Christmas Festival Children’s Ensemble
The NLC’s Children’s Ensemble sings with the National Lutheran Choir at their Christmas Festival Program in December.
Singers grades 3-7 with unchanged voices are encouraged to audition to join the NLC’s Children’s Ensemble for a glorious holiday tradition of singing at the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis. Singers do not need to be affiliated with a church or school to participate.
Here’s a preview of the Children’s Christmas Festival Chorus experience from last year’s performance.
What’s Involved?
This brief video walks through all the details of participating in the Children’s Ensemble, and our FAQ section is below.
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Children in grades 3-7 with unchanged treble voices are invited to audition. All children, regardless of faith or school affiliation, are encouraged to audition.
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Once singers are selected to perform at the Christmas Festival, they will have the option to choose their preferred rehearsal site/time for the duration of scheduled rehearsals.
Immanuel Lutheran Church in St. Paul (map)
Children living in the east metro may prefer to join in rehearsals on the following Sundays from 4-5pm
November 9
November 16
November 23
OR
St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church in Plymouth (map)
Children in the west metro may prefer to join in rehearsals on the following Mondays from 5:30-6:30pm
November 10
November 17
November 24
During the week of the concerts, rehearsals are as follows:
Immanuel Lutheran, St. Paul
Sunday, December 7: 4-5pm (for all singers)
Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis
Monday, December 8: 7-8 pm
Thursday, December 11: 7-8pm
ALL selected singers are required to participate in dress rehearsals at the Basilica of St. Mary.
You can download the full rehearsal schedule below.
Children who are selected to sing with the National Lutheran Choir at the Christmas Festival are required to attend all scheduled rehearsals prior to NLC’s Basilica performances.
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The NLC Christmas Festival takes place at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, with this year's performance dates taking place on Friday, December 12 at 4:30pm and two performances on Saturday, December 13 at 1:30pm and 8pm.
Performance call times for the Children’s Ensemble will be announced at rehearsal a later date.
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To audition, parents/guardians of singers will complete a registration form and submit a video of their child(ren) singing “Happy Birthday.” Instructions for video submission are outlined in the registration form.
Auditions close Sunday, October 26th, and singers will be notified whether or not they have been selected to participate within 48 hours of submitting an audition.
What singers say
Hear from the children who participated in the first ever Children’s Christmas Festival Chorus in 2024.