Appropriately titled “Day of Joy,” Dayspring Christian Academy’s annual Christmas Concert showcased the musical talents of our students. Teachers Lindsey Stauffer and Sally Armstrong led our students in an evening of celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
The Christmas concert was opened by Joyful Noise, a choir comprised of our third, fourth, and fifth-grade students. They were then joined in song by our High School Choir. Immediately following, guests were treated to performances by our Preschool, Developmental Kindergarten, and Academic Kindergarten students.
The evening continued with each Lower School class performing selections in both voice and instrument. Third grade shared their boomwhacker skills, while fourth grade presented two musical numbers on their violins. The stringed instruments were followed by fifth grade’s performance using bottles, a STEAM project on which they have been working.
Upper School Ukulele Club took the stage playing This Little Light of Mine and immediately were followed by our Honor’s Choir, who evoked laughter from our audience with Variations on ‘Jingle Bells’.
The evening concluded with performances from Middle School Choir, String Quartet, and High School Choir. The Christmas concert was not complete, however until our Staff Quartet stole the show with their humorous plea to receive Anything But a Tie for Christmas.
Of the importance of the Lower School music program at Dayspring Christian Academy, teacher Sally Armstrong says, “In the younger grades, we start each music class by singing the words ‘music is a gift from God.’ I stress to students that God must love music because he incorporated it throughout His creation (birds, insects, water, rain, etc.), and there are many places in Scripture where we are told to make music unto the Lord. Music is a tool for worship. I also stress that God is a God of order and that music is basically just organized sounds. 
In the Bible, we are told to “play skillfully,” and the only way to do that is to learn the basic concepts of rhythm, melody, and harmony, and practice them until we are skilled! Music is a discipline and is a great tool for character training in children. Music also helps us to learn more about the character of God . . . His beauty and creativity especially. It gives each student the opportunity to express his or her own individuality. There is so much value in incorporating the arts into a Principle Approach education.”
To elaborate further on these thoughts, Upper School music teacher Lindsey Stauffer says, “In music appreciation classes, we look in the Bible to see what principles God has given us for music. We evaluate music of different time periods to see how it fits into those Biblical principles. For example, 8th-grade music class studies the music of Martin Luther, John Calvin, and the Pilgrims. The students research their beliefs about music and then consider whether these beliefs are supported by Biblical principles.”
What is the fruit of such a robust music program at a Principle Approach school like Dayspring? Ms. Stauffer says it best, “I see students take ownership of their learning and music making. I get so excited when I see students realize that they can read and learn a piece of music by themselves. Dayspring students have so many musical talents and I often think how grateful I am to be able to work with them. Their personalities and excellent character make teaching a joy. Because of their dedication, we’re able to dig into some very challenging music and hear it come to life, particularly in the choirs. It’s such a blessing to have students who truly see music as a way to glorify God and seek to do their best for Him!”
And, just in case you’re curious about our Staff Quartet’s show-stealing performance, you can view it here:
If you would like more information about Dayspring Christian Academy or The Principle Approach, please contact Karol Hasting at 717-285-2000.
We wish to express our deep gratitude to Blessed Images Photography for all of the beautiful photos of our event, including those used in this post.