Students on the Mona Shores Singing Christmas Tree

 

At first when you see the tree, you might think it is an an oversized tree adorned with ornaments but a second later you will realise that it is a towering steel tree decorated with garland, twinkling lights and hundreds of teenagers.

A report on the Associated Press shows that the Mona Shores Singing Christmas Tree combines the usual elements into an unusual show that will draw thousands of spectators this weekend. The 67-foot-tall tree features 25,000 lights, 5,000 linear feet of greenery, and 15 tiers on which about 220 choir members stand. About 50 other students sing from positions near the base of the tree.

"It's basically ... a bunch of choir students standing in a tree singing Christmas music," said Brynne Wilcox, a Mona Shores High School senior who is taking part in her fourth and final set of shows, which run through Saturday at the Frauenthal Center in Muskegon.

Freshmen are relegated to the bottom of the five-story tree, while sophomores and juniors populate the middle. Seniors set up shop in the upper levels. The very top is the domain of the "Tree Angel," a senior selected by Shawn Lawton, the director of the Mona Shores High School Choir.

According to Lawton: "It's not that kid who's the greatest singer, necessarily (who partakes). But instead just someone with a lot of heart and maybe has lived through a lot and still smiles."

Lawton picked two Tree Angels this year, marking only the second time that's been done in the 31-year history of the show. They are alternating shows atop the tree.

All 275 student singers made it safely through a free dress rehearsal Wednesday night for members of the community with special needs, the elderly, and others who might not otherwise be able to come to the show.

Audience members roared in approval when the Singing Christmas Tree — shrouded in darkness at the start of the show — burst into light as the choir belted out "Gloria."