Back in 1993, the musical conductors for Bishop Carroll, St. Mary’s and Our Lady of the Rockies high schools in Calgary came up with what students then, upon looking back, say was "an audacious plan."

The conductors put their heads together and decided that hosting a concert featuring all three schools would be a great idea. In the years since, this bold decision has paid off handsomely as it has become a venerable annual Christmastime choral festival called “Hear the Angels Sing,” with more schools involved each year.

On Dec. 2, 350 students from seven Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) choirs assembled at St. Michael Catholic Community Parish to perform a grand slate of hymns and carols, some dating back 500 to 800 years.

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Joey Oberhoffner was a Grade 10 student at Our Lady of the Rockies (then known as Bishop Grandin High School) in 1993 and has been involved in every iteration of “Hear the Angels Sing.” At the time, Oberhoffer said the notion of bringing the three choirs together struck all three student bodies “as an audacious plan.”

Oberhoffner prepared the students for the 2024 concert in his role as vocal clinician. Upon his graduation from high school in 1996, he immediately returned to Our Lady of the Rockies as a vocal coach and has remained there to this day. He has since spread his wings and made district-wide contributions and led clinics in other CCSD institutes such as All Saints High School.

A believer in the St. Augustine expression that “singing is a prayer made twice,” Oberhoffner said it is an honour to help the students provide “a great gift” to the audience.

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“When you're just in the pew, and you close your eyes and listen to what's going on, that carries you from your day-to-day worries to a place where you can really commune with God,” said Oberhoffner. “As a singer, to be able to take people there is just such a gift, and a gift like that needs to be shared.”

Throughout Oberhoffner’s over-three-decade association with “Hear the Angels Sing,” the 2019 concert stands out as particularly memorable as it was a family affair. His niece Solana Argonza-Oberhoffner performed with the Our Lady of the Rockies choir.

There are two important pieces of advice he has imparted to his niece and thousands of students over the years before the concert. First, he urges them to be animated with their facial expressions in order to be performatively appealing to the attendees in the back rows.

The second piece of advice is even more paramount: trust the conductor.

“It's really important to look at the director because if you trust your ears then you'll be behind because of the science of acoustics and how long it takes the sound to travel and bounce off walls,” said Oberhoffner. “We always tell them, especially at this time of year, it's so important in this show to find a conductor who is swinging their arms. Follow those arms, because otherwise you're going to fall behind.”

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Among the highlights of this year’s lineup was the opening hymn, “Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel,” using the same arrangement that then musical director of Bishop Carroll High School Brian McAuley devised for the inaugural concert in 1993.

All 350 students come together to collectively perform “Halleluiah” to close the concert on an emotive high. They also communally presented “Still, still, still,” an Austrian carol and lullaby.