This is again that time of the year... For Christmas... and for Christmas Choir Competition (CPCCC).

Last year I cannot join the competition as I have another event to attend and we (S&V Choir) didn't make it to the final round as we only got the 11th position (only 10 choir may advance to the final round) after singing the "Best Time of The Year" and "Jingle Bell Rocks". But I managed to join this year.

The preparation was harsh this year, we finalize our decision to participate when the competition itself about to be held in another 2 weeks. Also, our instructor cannot join the rehearsal in the first week at all so we have to learn the competition material by our self, including the "Silent Night" composed by Bandung Choral Society as mandatory song for the final round (which is soooo hard).

We did 4 times rehearsal each week. On the first week, we try to learn and getting to know the song generally, not including the breathing and dynamics of the song. At the start of 2nd week, our instructor Mr. Bernadus joined the rehearsal and listening to the result of our preparation so far and so we decided the song we will perform (one of the song was about to be exchanged) that is "Christmas Lullaby" by John Rutter and "Praise Him (A King is Born)" written by Sy Goraieb, Tim Hosman, while neglecting the mandatory song practice (let's focus on getting through the final round first!). We practiced the songs, memorized the tunes, the lyrics, the breathing techniques, and also the choreography.

At last, the day of the competition. We assemble at 12, do warming ups, and do the final check. After performing at about 4 p.m. I had to go home earlier because there's another event I had to attend and I got the news that, we are through to the final round!!! (9th from 12 participant which is the bottom rank to get through to the final), which mean we had to rehearse for the mandatory song. So we rendezvous at Ingrid's house and start rehearsing until midnight.

On the day of final round, we had to assemble sooner than yesterday because it also start earlier. We had lunch at Solaria, change into our costume, and, as usual, do the warming up and the final check. This time we also brought our fold for the "Silent Night" part (no way we can memorized it in a night isn't it?).

While waiting for the announcement, the MURI (Indonesian Record Breaking committee) event is held for the category of "Most participant on singing human Christmas tree".

At last, the winner is announced in the evening. We got rank 7 of 9 finalist, which is something we are so proud of, because we are improving overnight (while 1st rank on the first day got 4th rank, and the 2nd rank on the first day got 8th rank!!).