VOENA, Benicia’s own world-renowned children’s choir, sang the second of three scheduled performances of its annual “Voices of the Season: Wintersong” program at Benicia Historical Museum at the Camel Barns on Saturday. The final performance of the 2014 holiday program will be at the City Winery in Napa on Dec. 20.

A few of the songs in the show are familiar, having become a part of the group’s regular repertoire, but even those sound new this year by virtue of modified musical arrangement. The singers’ Victorian costumes are also a familiar touch, but they are now more ornate, bringing out a more formal and mature aspect. “Diana (Braulik, VOENA’s costumer) is really a detailer,” choir founder and director Annabelle Marie explained to me after the show, “and I am so much about detailing in the music. We make a nice team, she and I.”

As the lights came down at the Camel Barns on Saturday, Marie peeked out from around a corner with a knowing wink before sitting at the piano to start what sounded like “O Come All Ye Faithful” but quickly morphed into a beautiful arrangement of “Count Your Blessings” by Jane Siberry. The older, teen singers walked out in their Victorian finery and picked up lighted candles as they began the enchanting piece, featuring the repeated phrase, “Shine your light.” It was a beautiful idea and a beautiful sound, and I only found myself wishing for a little incandescent enhancement to allow the audience to better see the singers’ faces.

The second selection was equally enchanting, especially by virtue of soloist Sheridan Lugo, who provided lovely melody lines on a tiny, gold pennywhistle. The arrangement was enhanced by light percussion played by VOENA rhythm director Jeff Campitelli, and Marie came in with some romantic strains on violin as the remainder of the choir filed back onto the stage to complete the piece.

One of the most tender moments of the evening came in the closing lines of “Gaudete,” or “Rejoice,” a 16th-century Latin song with lyrics by Joseph S. Cook. The song diminishes in sound and force toward its closing verse, a tender line sung by Lugo: “Benedicat Domino: Salus Regi nostro,” which translates to “Let it give praise to the Lord: Greetings to our king.” Lugo had some members of the audience in tears with her soulful rendition.

Next, in “Carol of the Bells,” a Ukranian song by Mykola Leontovych with English lyrics by Peter Wilhousky, it became clear just how highly trained these young singers are, not only in personal vocal expression but also in refined technique. The group sang with power and precision the song’s fast-paced themes while maintaining the joyful air of the tune: “Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas!”

Things take a turn near the close of the first half of the program with “Song of the Trinity,” a number that starts out gently, like the procession of songs preceding it, then gets lustier, with some percussive drumming and other snappy percussion sounds, evoking an image of tribal dancers celebrating around a communal fire. That ambience carries over into the piece that follows, a Celtic rendition of “Angels We Have Heard on High,” performed with similarly robust, thumping percussion.

The second half of “Voices of the Season” gallops along at a notably quicker clip, beginning with “Lux Aeterna” by Michael McGlynn, which flows unbroken into “Midwinter Night,” a descriptive story song by Greg Badano. The performance rounds out nicely with more sweet songs, including the French “Noel Nouvelet” and perhaps the most uplifting song of the entire program, “Mi Rialzerai,” or “You Lift Me Up,” by Rolf Løvland and Brendan Graham, sung in both Italian and English: “You raise me up so I can stand on mountains; You raise me up to be more than I can be.”

The song is one of faith, but the words also reflect a core value at the heart of VOENA, if you listen to Marie describe her teaching philosophy. “I give them everything I know,” she said. “I don’t hold back, so they develop their talents and abilities very quickly. I want these kids to be better than me.”

The program concludes with the full concert choir performing “African Noel,” a beautiful traditional African folk song.

After the show Marie told me about some recent changes in VOENA, and a unique opportunity that took her by surprise.

“It’s something I have done that is new,” she said of her decision to begin including parents in the creative process. “Instead of me being all the creative juices, I’ve started incorporating other people, mainly moms, because I was seeing that they wanted a creative outlet as well. By having them be more a part of the process — choreography, song choices, staging, props — VOENA becomes a family affair. It’s really, really nice. It enhances my creative process, having their input.”

Something else that is quite new for VOENA is the group’s upcoming participation in the televised competition, “America’s Got Talent.” An agent for that show heard a recent VOENA performance and approached Marie about the group trying out at a Santa Clara audition session in February.

Marie was hesitant at first. “I don’t believe in competition for the kids,” she told me. “But in this case I felt like this will be good for them. I told them it’s not about the competition for us, but a challenge to do our best.”

I asked how she would select singers for the audition. She laughed at that simple little question that packs such a big punch.

“It’s tough! They want 30-35 kids. I’m going to pick the best of the best, but I have a lot of talent.” She certainly does, considering the dozens of members at concert choir level alone.

“I’m going to lean toward singers who also play musical instruments at a very proficient level. I’m going to narrow to that, because I think that’s what VOENA has to offer that’s different from other vocal groups. My kids can use their bodies for percussion. They can play the Irish drum, the banjo, all these things that enhance them vocally and also enhance the performance. Instrumentation is integral to the story behind each show.”

The annual “Voices of the Season” concert has become a holiday tradition for many Benicia families, so it is a shame that the Benicia performance sold out weeks before the show. (The Camel Barn venue was limited to 200 tickets.) There is one more chance to see the show, however, Saturday, Dec. 20 at the Lincoln Performing Arts Center in Yountville. There were still about 20 seats left for that performance at the time of this writing. Go and enjoy a soothing evening of music that captures the reverence of the season in that special way that only VOENA can bring.

If You Go
VOENA’s final performance of “Voices of the Season: Wintersong” is Saturday, Dec. 20 at 7:30 at the City Winery, 1030 Main St., Napa. Tickets are $30 to $40 and are available online at voena.org

Elizabeth Warnimont is a freelance writer specializing in the performing arts. She is also a substitute teacher for the Benicia Unified School District.