The Cotter choir’s Christmas concert is always pleasant. The bright and warm chapel, the rosy cheeks of the hardworking choir, and the wrinkled, smiling faces of the aging audience members brings merriment to our holiday season. This year’s event, according to some veteran observers of the event, provided one of the best shows ever.

On the second Thursday of December, members of the Choir, including the show choir and boy’s and girl’s groups Timeless and The Divas gathered in the Chapel of the Angels for an incredible performance.

Opening up with the concert choir and their stunning performance of “Welcome Yule”, the audience was wowed with emotional renditions of “Believe” from The Polar Express, the classic “O Holy Night”, and the Hallelujah chorus from Handel’s “Messaiah: No. 44”, which received a standing ovation from the crowd.

Timeless, led by the talents of seniors Zach Bailey, Josh Forst, Corey Beyer, Matthew Masyga, and sophomore Ryan Ortega, sang an A Capella arrangement of “Carry On My Wayward Son”, a rock classic by Kansas. Their female counterpart, The Divas, were led by Molly Corcoran-Sanders, Julia Charron, Rosemary Flanagan, Calli Marg, Victoria Shim, and Brynn Spitzer. Their rendition of “Next To Me”, a pop hit single by Scottish singer Emeli Sandé, was upbeat and cheerful. The two groups then joined for the holiday classic, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”.

The Show Choir came onstage afterward to sing some of our favorite modern hits, leading off with American Authors’ “Best Day of my Life” and Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. Before their final song, Pharrell William’s “Happy” featuring the high-octane soloist Corey Beyer.

After a short time to put the risers back together, and give time for the show choir to put their robes back on, the entire choir came out one final time, to sing some Christmas carols we all know and love. From “We Three Kings” and  “The First Noel”, to “Joy to the World”, the choir brought feelings of the season to all audience members.

With the end of the night dawning quickly upon us, the choir exited the risers and encircled the crowd. With alumni leaving the audience and joining hand-in-hand with the choir, all sang a heart-warming rendition of “Peace, Peace”, followed by the Christmas classic “We Wish You A Merry Christmas”.