With the holidays come many events and wonderful opportunities here at The Lehigh Valley Charter HS for the Arts. All majors are abuzz with practices, rehearsals and more. Here's an overview of some of recent happenings and upcoming events:

To begin, 20 vocal majors were selected to perform with the band Paramore at the Sands Event Center Nov. 11 (see photo at bottom of page). Students were excited and extremely thankful for this opportunity to work as a professional choir onstage with this highly acclaimed band. Additionally, the visual art master class and exhibit with world-renowned artist Larry Fink were great successes.

The annual student-choreographed Dance Soup was a sold-out show and received rave reviews from attendees. The traditional "Giving Tree" was fruitful again this year. Student donations in the form of shoeboxes filled with useful supplies were sent to children in war-torn countries.

Jazz and Contemporary Ensembles played at the exciting holiday concert "Festivus" in the Charter Arts' Black Box Dec. 6. Touring Choir performed at Gwynedd Square Presbyterian Church Dec. 7. The visual art winter exhibit Dec. 6 was a wonderful display of student artwork and attestation to their hard work and dedication. The Poetry Slam was held at Godfrey Daniels Dec. 5 featuring an array of student poetry.

The music department has had a variety of performances. The Gospel Choir offered its Christmas show at Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem Dec. 12. Instrumentalists and vocalists performed at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks Dec. 15.

The Winter Concert Series was held at Moravian College's Foy Hall Dec. 16 and 17. The Touring Choir will be singing at Godfrey Daniels Dec. 19.

In the theater department, the production of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is coming up. The production is a fresh take on this classic play. It is directed by Christopher Morris and assistant directed by Aeriell Hartshorne-Hesketh. It is double-casted, featuring two different casts on different nights. Cast A includes Pierce Campion, James Egbert, Alysia Schneberger, Teague Fernandez, Alyssa Karounos, Sage Ecke, Felicity Bell, Willow Reichard-Flynn and Savannah Murphy. Cast B features Elizabeth Tumbleson, Aidan Newell, Kylin Camburn, Anelise Diaz, Jacob Crisafulli, Tilleen Meitzler, Ash Bowman, Matt Hogan and Kaelyn Lefurgy. It opens Dec. 18 and runs until the 22nd.

Additionally, our school will be holding a couple of open houses soon. These open houses give prospective students and parents more information on our school and student-led tours. These will be held Jan. 6 and 22.

Furthermore, the student-run online newspaper/blog is constantly updated with various stories, school events, and general news. Feel free to visit it at www.theperformerblog.wordpress.com.