Clad in black dress pants and long, sequined yellow robes, the Chorus classes clutch their candles as they eagerly get into place, waiting to perform at Walt Disney World on Tuesday Nov 20^th, Friday Nov 28^th and Wednesday Dec 5^th. Allowing them to display their hard work, they sung a total of 14 songs.

Candlelight is a premiere chorus event, which is why chorus teacher Victoria Rathbun started teaching her classes the song list, which includes, “Joy to the World,” “Silent Night,” and “Come All Ye Faithful,” on the second day of the school year, wasting no time. Sophomore Tally Chamelin worked on memorizing the songs in class and at home so she would be ready.

“It took a lot of time and effort to participate in Candlelight and we worked on it a majority of almost every class period, and I had to spend time at home preparing myself, so I would be completely ready,” Chamelin said.

Candlelight, a holiday celebration hosted by Disney, is an event featuring a variety of choirs and an orchestra putting on a Christmas-themed performance, hosted by a celebrity narrator. This year, Candlelight was hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, much to students’ excitement. Sophomore Laura Shaw had watched “How I Met Your Mother,” a show Harris acted in and was happy to hear he would be there.

“My favorite part about Candlelight was probably being that close to Neil Patrick Harris,” Shaw said.

With Harris in attendance, as well as a large crowd, students were nervous to perform. Chamelin was anxious to be singing a piece that she had never sung in front of an audience. Senior Evan Bogert faced a “slight bit of worry” but managed to overcome his nerves eventually.

“Of course, I’m nervous, it happens to everyone. I calm my nerves by putting my mind to other things to put myself in a more comfortable mindset,” Bogert said.

All of the time put into preparing for Candlelight eventually paid off. Despite singing outside in cold temperatures for extended periods of time, students got to appreciate the lights and decorations as well as spend time and “crack jokes” with friends. Disney also thanked students in the honors choir by giving them 2 tickets each, per performance.

“Disney pays you with tickets. I think that is really cool that they thought Hagerty was so good,” said Shaw.

Candlelight Set List