Students prepare video singing Easter praises

Courtesy photo/JDCHS

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Juan Diego CHS saxophonist Tianyi Zhang records his solo for this year's Easter video in the school chapel.

DRAPER — For the last four years, Juan Diego Catholic High School choir students have found a unique way to add to Lenten and Easter observances by creating a video to post on the school’s YouTube channel.

“It is another way to involve students in Holy Week and bring attention to Holy Week and what we do in the school and how we honor what we believe in at the school,” Choir Director Alla Keoppel said. “It just brings the entire community together in creating this. It’s many, many, many hours of recording, and it’s a lot of effort on the students’ part.”

The project evolved out of an effort by a previous choir director, John VanWagner, to keep students connected during the pandemic lockdown. Unable to do live performances, VanWagner turned to Zoom to enable his choir members to share their talents. The first video, “What A Wonderful Name It Is,” was posted on April 6, 2020. It features eight students in a montage of prerecorded segments, each participating from the isolation of their own homes.

In the past, the videos included JDCHS choir students and selected singers from St. John the Baptist Middle School. This year, the entire choir – more than 100 students from all three Skaggs Catholic Center schools – are participating. The high school orchestra and some band members will accompany them.

“We try to involve as much of our performing arts department as we can for each video, but so far have only been able to include music groups: choir, band, percussion and orchestra,” said Denisse Vallecillos, director of orchestras and the Academy of Fine Arts. “We would like to get our dance and theater departments involved as well in the future.”

This year’s Easter video was recorded on March 29; Keoppel, Vallecillos and Director of Campus Life Dave Brunetti did most of the production work with the aid of a professional videographer.

Previous spring videos have reflected on the season of Lent and renewal, but this year the five-minute video, titled “There is a River,” will celebrate the joy of the Risen Lord and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Keoppel said. “This is about Jesus and how he brings life and connection to us all. It is referring to Jesus being our river in our lives.”

This is Keoppel’s first year at Juan Diego CHS. She previously served as music director at First Presbyterian Church, where she had helped produce many videos similar to “There is a River.” The project gives participating students a sense of purpose in working toward a common goal and helps connect some of the schools’ departments, because “most of the time we have a lot that we accomplish in our own separate departments, and this is the time when we all come together and create something,” she said. “It also exposes the elementary students to a high level of professional recording and filming.”

“There is a River” will be released on Easter morning at  https://www.youtube.com/@JDCHS. Other videos produced by the choir also are available on the channel; these include a tribute to the Virgin Mary and Advent hymns.