Several years back when I directed a small church choir, we had a party each year to introduce the special Christmas music for the coming season. We called the event "Christmas in July." You may think that's really planning ahead, but we needed that much time to learn the music. Besides we hadn't gotten together as a group since June, and wouldn't again until September.
When the music was reintroduced in the fall, it was not totally unfamiliar and was greeted enthusiastically. This also gave the soloists time to learn their solos. (Don't you hate it when the soloist is the last to learn their part and you knew it two weeks ago?)
One year we learned a few selections from the Messiah, a totally new experience for some, and one year we dared to think we could pull off "Amahl and the Night Visitors." Yes, we had a wonderful boy soprano! Christmas in July was a time of stretching and imagining with no looming deadlines. We also invited people who didn't usually sing in the choir, and as a result, some decided they could.
In the hot days of summer it's fun to do something cool and unexpected like celebrating Jesus' birth together in song.
Merry Christmas,
Paulita
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