On December 4th, the UST music program held it’s annual Christmas Concert at Orchestra Hall. Each year, the concert includes performances by the Chamber Singers, Concert Choir, Liturgical Choir, Women’s Choir, band, wind ensemble, and handbell choir from UST. There are always two performances, an afternoon and an evening show, because of the high attendance rates and amount of people wanting to see family, friends, or merely a great concert during the holiday season. Every year the music program produces a marvelous show, and this year was no exception.

It was my second year performing in the Christmas concert, last year as a member of the Concert Choir and this year as a member of the Chamber Singers. It is incredibly difficult to explain how much work goes in to making these concerts as superb as they are, but I’ll do my best to give you an inside look at the concert and the preparation needed to put on the Christmas concerts.

In an earlier blog post, I mentioned that I don’t like singing or listening to Christmas songs until Thanksgiving has passed. Well, as a member of the choir, we begin rehearsing the Christmas carols and songs for the concert sometime in late October to early November. Talk about an early start to the holiday season! Typically the group Christmas carols are easier to learn and polish for the concert, but the songs specific to our choir are more difficult and take a longer time to perfect. This means we start working on these songs (usually two of them) earlier in the year, sometime in late September to mid October. Every rehearsal (three days a week, 1.5 hours each rehearsal) is spent working on these songs and making them perfect.

The day of the concert is one of the longest, yet most enjoyable days of the year. It is filled with choir love and bonding, something that I cherish so much. The day begins at the crack of dawn-well, for a college student that is-and ends long after the sun has set. Here’s a rough schedule of the day:

7 AM: Alarm goes off. Hit Snooze. Obviously.

7:15 AM: Second alarm rings. Once again, hit snooze.

7:30 AM: Third alarm. Ok, fine. It’s time to get up.

7:45 AM: Put on the comfiest clothes I own.

8 AM: Straighten the bed head and put my face on (aka makeup).

8:30 AM: Head to Orchestra Hall.

9 AM: Warm Ups.

9:30 AM: Onstage for rehearsal numero uno.

10:30 AM: Hour long break. Go to Caribou. Need. Caffeine.

11:30 AM: Back onstage for rehearsal number two.

12 PM: Lunch Break. Jimmy John’s. As always. #4 please.

1:20 PM: Final Dress Rehearsal. Goodbye comfy clothes. Hello big red dress.

3 PM: Lay around the practice room. Maybe sleep. Or take pictures. Or watch “Bridesmaids” on my friend Alison’s laptop.

4:00 PM: CONCERT 1 WOOHOO!

6 PM: See the family, rest, eat dinner, rest.

7:30 PM: CONCERT 2 WOOHOO!

9 PM: See friends, get comfy clothes back on, BYE orchestra hall.

9:20 PM: 25 Facebook notifications from all the choir love happening online.

9:30 PM: Crash.

That is just a rough sketch of what our day usually consists of. It is LONG, arduous, tiring…but so much fun. I can’t imagine spending that much time with anyone except my choir family. I love you all and can’t wait until next year’s concert!

I’m currently sitting in my favorite study spot in the library (2nd floor) listening to my Pandora Christmas station, procrastinating studying by blogging. Hey, it’s a legitimate excuse-this is my job! It’s amazing to see the things students do in order to put off studying during finals week. If you take a look around the library, you’ll see the latest episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” playing on someone’s computer, multiple screens of Facebook creeping, and endless tweeting about the horrors of finals week.

My desk in my room is cluttered with hundreds of flashcards, ranging from “Aristotelian Beliefs on Happiness” to “Statistic Confidence Interval Tests,” empty candy wrappers from my late night sugar binging, and post-it notes ready to bookmark any important notes or chapters in books from this past semester. Flynn 151 has become a black hole of notes, books, pencils, erasers, bookmarks, endless amounts of caffeine and sugar, music (only in the form of orchestral music because we like to think it helps us focus), sweatpants and sweatshirts, and the constant buzz of the printer copying slides of powerpoint sets and last minute papers. This is just a handful of what a typical student encounters during finals. All that is on our minds is study, study, study, study, sleep, study, study, study, coffee, study, study (with a few breaks here and there to keep hold of our sanity).

It’d be a lie to say that finals week is enjoyable. But, there are a few things pertaining solely to this week that I do find some happiness and comfort in.

The thing I enjoy most about finals week is the common commiseration amongst the whole student body during the week. This is the time of year where the library is packed with people and it is a battle, similar to Rambo, to find an open table. Although there is ferocity in trying to snag a table before it is taken, there is a feeling of bonding as you and your fellow students do your best to tackle the last of the semester.

Another thing I find enjoyable about finals week is the various events that UST provides for students in order to de-stress and relax in the wake of an anxiety-ridden week. Every year there are free massages in MHC on a first come first serve basis, and there is always a long line for the campus favorite Aqua Bed Massage that is well worth the wait! On Study Thursday, the wellness center is hosting the “Stress Spa” day, where all students can go receive massages, color, or play with play-doh. It may seem kiddy to you but there’s nothing more stress relieving than taking a trip back to childhood and doing simple things like playing with coloring books molding play-doh into yellow pizzas or blue snowmen. There’s also a lot of free food being handed out at various places across campus, like free breakfast in the residence halls on Study Thursday or free lollipops sitting on all the tables in the library, warmly welcoming any student diving into studying for the day. Events like this make the students a little less bitter and a little more relaxed during an extremely stressful time and are always quite enjoyable.

Yes, while finals are definitely stressful and a busy end to the semester, there are a few things during the week that make it somewhat more enjoyable. With all this being said, I should probably get back to studying for my own finals that are quickly approaching. Good luck to all students on the end of the year tests and with the last day of classes! J-Term is just around the corner!