Roukos Live: A Night at Old BC

Two days before Thanksgiving, Lawson stopped me in the hallway and said, "I need to let you know that am singing in the Christmas concert next weekend--December 8th."

"Hold on a minute," I replied before I went into the bathroom to clean out my ears.  When I returned, I said, "Now what did you say?"

"I'm singing in the Christmas concert next weekend at the cathedral."

So I had heard correctly.

"You?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Music is going to come out of your mouth?" The last time Lawson sang was--well, I've never heard Lawson sing. In church, Lawson stands during the hymns, patiently listening until the music stops. Here's a picture of Lawson singing:

"Yes," he said. "Believe it or not."

"What provoked you to sign up to sing in the Christmas concert?" There had to be more to his decision than holiday spirit.

"I need extra credit for my biology class."

That's when I stopped asking questions. Instead, I put December 8th on my calendar and looked forward to Lawson's musical debut.

In the week that followed, Lawson went to school, attended lacrosse practice afterward, and did his homework. Never did he mention choral rehearsals. When I asked if he'd practiced that day with Father Ronald, the answer was always no. I asked him, "What are you going to sing?"

"I don't know," he replied. "I guess I'll find out when I get there."

I thought, This ought to be good. "What time do you have to be at the cathedral Sunday?"

"I'm not sure," he said. "I think around 7:00 that morning."

"So you're singing at the 8:00 Mass?"

"No, it's a Christmas concert."

"I think you need to call Mills and find out when you should be there." Mills always has the answer.

"I'm pretty sure it's 7:00."

"Call Mills."

"Mom, I know what I'm talking about."

"Call."

So Lawson called. No, I take that back. He texted. "Mills says we have to be there at 5:00 pm. The concert's at 7:00."

That sounded more like it.

So after a weekend of crossing the state for BC's game in the GHSA AA semifinals and a Lawson family reunion, my son and I ventured downtown for a night of Christmas hymns. Stephen opted out. He wasn't interested in waiting two hours for a concert when football was on TV.  "Besides," he said, "he hasn't practiced a bit for this thing. I don't want to go listen to that."

I couldn't argue with his logic, but I just had to see Lawson performing live. It might be my only chance.

So in the two-hour space between arrival and curtain time, I walked downtown's Broughton Street with Carmen, mother of Mills. Then we found seats near the front of the sanctuary for the big performance.

First of all, the cadets filed in, seniors first, in order of rank, and they looked so distinguished in their Class A uniforms.

And the cathedral itself is beautiful, as you can see from the photo above, so the ambience alone made the evening worth it. The concert included musical selections on the organ, a few songs by a soloist, and some carols by a local barbershop quartet. But the BC boys sang most of the songs. Some selections featured the BC chorus alone, and then others included additional boys from the religious studies classes (and, I suppose, the biology classes).

Still skeptical, I envisioned Lawson mouthing the word watermelon through every hymn, but he surprised me. If he was faking it, he did a pretty good job, but I dare say the boy was actually singing!

To the left of Lawson is Mills. And to the left of Mills is Harrison Hughes. All three boys sang like adolescent angels. And then there was the kid to the right. He was having none of it, which made me wonder why he showed up at all. Look at how he didn't even bother to read the music. I wanted to sneak up to the front of the church and whisper, "Just mouth the words elephant shoes," but I thought I'd be too conspicuous. So there he stood, waiting patiently for the concert to be over. I wonder if he's going to get extra credit in biology for standing there.

Was it the Mormon Tabernacle choir? No. But still, the concert got me in the Christmas spirit, and I got to see Lawson sing. Few people will be able to say the same.

Check out the video of the live performance on YouTube!