Lampeter-Strasburg High School, 1600 Book Road, Lancaster, will hold its annual holiday concert on Thursday, Dec. 21, at 7 p.m. The festive show will take place in the performing arts center of the school, and it will feature students from multiple ensembles.

The tradition of hosting the holiday show every year is upheld through a partnership of the high school's concert choir, Madrigal Singers, concert band and orchestra. Directors Erik Welchans, Larry Royer and Rob Schalbach work together to coordinate the holiday showcase by each managing a different aspect of the event. Since this is one of the only performances that has all of the school's ensembles performing together, it allows the directors to create unique arrangements. Welchans, the chorus director at the high school, has collaborated with orchestra director Schalbach to present various numbers that have strings accompanying the choir.

Traditionally, the holiday concert concludes with a rendition of the "Hallelujah" chorus from Handel's "Messiah." Audience members will be invited to join the students on stage to sing the final piece, accompanied by the full orchestra and choir ensembles. Although the tradition was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic, it returned at last year's concert and resulted in a choir of more than 200 participants. Overall, the concert often draws in more than 1,000 audience members.

"It's nice because this is the only concert where we have all the ensembles performing together," said Welchans. "We try to include a good variety in the arrangement, from classical to contemporary and some new pieces."

For the first time in nearly 40 years, the holiday concert will include a handbell choir this year. The handbell choir was started at Martin Meylin Middle School in the '80s, but the bells had fallen into disrepair after several years of inactivity. Royer, who directs the bands at the middle school and high school, wanted to include a few arrangements in the holiday show that called for handbells, so he found a specialist in Virginia who could make the necessary repairs. In May, Royer received the fixed set of bells and began to incorporate them into rehearsals. "There's nothing quite like handbells at Christmas," Royer said. "I saw a few opportunities in some of the pieces to use them, and kids in band and orchestra volunteered right away to play them."

When selecting music for the show, Royer said he tries to include pieces that are both appropriate for the kids' age level and enjoyable to play. The arrangements often include a variety of pieces, from 15th-century Italian compositions to Russian Orthodox Christmas music. Royer also asked Schalbach to perform with the band for one of the pieces. Schalbach, who conducts the orchestra, owns a bass saxophone, which is a very uncommon and quite large instrument. Royer's band will play an accompaniment to Schalbach's solo on the bass sax. "It's my favorite performance of the whole year," Royer said of the holiday show. "I'm a sucker for anything Christmas, and everyone looks forward to it each year."