“I think we should go from that, into the rock Christmas song. Larry and I have been coming up with a light show to go along with it. It won’t be as impressive as the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, but I’m hoping Marcus will like it. Do you think the other kids will want to join Marcus and the orchestra in that song?”

“Cindy and Sammie did an amazing duet at their summer camp concert. It was a fast-paced piece blending Celtic and Classical music, so if given the chance, I bet they would join in. I wouldn’t be surprised if the other two would also want to participate,” Mr. Frances commented.

Hannah made a few notes on her pad, “Okay, I’ll figure out how to get them all in positions where they will easily be seen once we start playing with the lights.”

The two were distracted by the pitter patter of little feet running across the stage.

“Looks like someone brought their little kids to practice today,” Hannah smiled at the two girls crossing the stage to look at the big Christmas Tree.

Mr. Frances smiled as he watched Sammie and Cindy, “They look so little up there. If you’re not careful they’re just going to disappear on stage in the middle of the performance. Glad that’s your challenge to prevent, not mine.”

Hannah looked at Mr. Francess, “They’re in the performance? Did you plan something you didn’t tell me about?”

Mr. Francess chuckled, “Just one thing. I told you we had five child musical prodigies, and we talked about fifteen-year-old Marcus. I didn’t, however, tell you how old the youngest two were. Hannah, up on stage there we have Sammie and Cindy. They are the true stars of the show. Their talent will blow you away.”

“What? But they’re just little kids. They look about seven. You’re telling me, they’re the true talent of the five kids?”

“All five of the kids are extremely talented and already have musical skills at or above anyone in our symphony orchestra, but those two . . . those two have talent above anything I have seen in a very long time. Sorry I didn’t tell you they were so young, but I wanted to see your reaction. It’s why I asked for this meeting down here, instead of in my office. Wait till you hear them play.”

The two adults sat in the front row just watching Cindy and Sammie take in the magic of a big Christmas tree.

“Look at them,” Hannah commented. “That little kid joy and fascination in Christmas decorations and lights always makes my heart melt. Hmmm, what if we put that heart melting into the performance?”

Hannah pulled out her cell phone and made a call, “Larry, are you in the control room? . . . Good, can you dim the lights on the stage and give a spotlight on each of the kids. I want the lights on the tree to really stand out, but I don’t want the tree in complete darkness. So, maybe a soft spotlight on it. Then throw in snowflakes, bells, or just a star pattern across the whole stage. Look at the scene and go with whatever inspires you.”

A few moments later, the stage lights changed to how Hannah had directed, with what appeared to be twinkling white stars shining on the whole stage. Cindy and Sammies mouth dropped as their smiles widened. After taking in the tree a little bit more, they slowly turned around looking at the light pattern on the darkened part of the stage.

“Snow,” Sammie screeched out.

The two girls moved into the twinkling lights. Larry, suspecting what they wanted to do, dimmed the spotlights on the kids to let them dance around in the ‘snow’ fall.

“That,” Hannah smiled. “Is the opening to our Christmas Concert. Those two coming out in pretty little girl Christmas dresses, showing that same little kid joy in lighted trees. Then we have them open presents containing their instruments. They can immediately start to play a Christmas song . . . I don’t know, something like White Christmas or Rocking Around the Christmas Tree?”

Mr. Frances kept his eyes on the two girls, “That could work. White Christmas would be a perfect way to start the concert. We’ll have to figure out if we use all five of the kids or just those two, but it would be a good shock for the audience. Stuff like that is why you are the best Stage Director in the area. Figure it all out, Hannah. We can integrate it into tomorrow’s rehearsal. For now, though, let’s go meet our little musicians.”

The two quickly found their way up onto the stage and went over to the girls who were twirling around.

“Hi Cindy and Sammie,” Mr. Frances said. “Nice to see you again.”

“Hi,” the two girls replied as they stopped twirling.

“Girls, this is Hannah. She’s our Stage Director.”

“What’s a Stage Director,” Sammie asked?

Hannah got down on her knees to look at Sammie, “I turn the music performance into a show, instead of people just playing music. I’m going to turn the two of you into musical princesses.”

Both Sammie and Cindy smiled at this.

Sammie’s Mom came up behind her daughter, wrapping her in a hug from the back, “Hello.”

Greetings were made all around, after which Cindy and Sammie were shown a room backstage where they could put their coats and backpacks. They were told that this would be their breakroom, so tomorrow they could bring some toys to play with during breaks if they wanted to. Before leaving, Mr. Frances gave Joyce instructions on what app to download onto the girls’ tablets and what the login code was for the girls to have access to all the sheet music for the performance. Once all that was set up, Joyce sent the girls to the bathroom and had them both drink some water. Then the girls were given parent lecture #42: be good and listen to the grown-ups.

With instruments and music tablets in hand, Joyce, Cindy, and Sammie went back out to the stage. It was now alive with activity, as the orchestra members were setting up to perform. Some were still getting their instruments out, but most were warming up. Joyce stopped the girls before going out on the stage. She kissed Sammie and left to go sit in the audience. Cindy and Sammie looked out at all the grown-ups.

“Ellen,” Lisa said to her friend after noticing two kids slowly come out from backstage. “Did you bring your kid’s today?”

“Not me,” Ellen looked over at the two little ones. “Those kids look to be the same age, so definitely not mine. Isn’t that cute though, they brought toy instruments, so they can pretend to be part of the orchestra when their mom or dad rehearse.”

“Don’t worry Ellen,” Lisa chuckled. “I’m sure they’re not here to take your job. They’ve gotta be what, six or seven. I think your position in the orchestra is safe for at least a few more years.”

Ellen glared at her friend. “No doubt there. They’re just little babies with their toy instruments. Look at that violin. It’s purple and has stickers all over it. Little kids and their stickers.”

The girls looked around at all the adults. It was obvious some were looking and talking about them. They both recognized a few of the adults as teachers during the summer at Music Camp. Cindy smiled when she saw Mrs. Johnson, the Woodwind Class teacher.

Sammie turned to her friend, “Cindy, we need to do something to show them all that we belong here.”

“Hmmm,” Cindy looked at the stage full of professional musicians. “What should we play?”

Sammie thought for a moment, “We’re here to put on a Christmas concert, right? Do you know Silent Night?”

“Sure, that’s an easy one.”

“Let’s go right out there to the center of the stage, turn and face them, and play Silent Night.”

“Sure,” Cindy said. “I was afraid you were going to suggest that Celtic piece we did this summer. I would need to practice that one at least once before we did it again. Silent Night will be easy.”

The girls put down their music tablets and went out to the center of the stage. Looking at each other and smiling, they turned to face the Symphony Orchestra members. Quietly Cindy counted down from three, so only Sammie could hear her, then the two of them started playing.

The stage quickly went silent and listened to the two little girls play. When they finished, there was clapping from both the audience and the stage.

“Sorry,” Lisa said to Ellen. “Looks like they are here to take our jobs.”

Mr. Frances came out onto the stage, “Thank you girls. Okay everyone, you all saw the posting about this year’s Christmas Concert, where we will be debuting some talented young musicians. These are the two youngest, Cindy and Sammie. I wasn’t expecting them to start us off, but it was a good introduction.”

Mr. Frances smiled down at the two girls before looking to the side of the stage, “And over here we have . . .”

“Jessica! George!” Sammie and Cindy screamed together and ran off to give both of them hugs.

“Yes, Jessica and George,” Mr. Frances chuckled at the little kid enthusiasm. “There will be a fifth member joining us in an hour or two. He had an important exam today that he couldn’t miss. Don’t let the size of these kids fool you. They all have the talent to perform at a professional level. The only thing they are missing is experience.”

Mr. Frances got the kids to quiet down and showed them where to sit on the stage. Jessica had a discussion with Brad, the orchestra pianist. It was decided that at least initially, Jessica would start out on the regular piano, and Brad would be on the electric piano.

“Some of you got to hear these kids play this summer, but most have not. To help speed up the process of integrating them into our Symphony Orchestra for this concert, I am going to ask each kid to play their favorite song for us,” Mr. Frances made eye contact with Sammie, Cindy, George, and Jessica before continuing. “Cindy, do you want to go first or last?”

Cindy knew that playing the flute would calm her nerves, “I’ll go first.”

To the shock of those that had never heard her play before today, Cindy played every note perfectly of the very difficult piece. It was full of emotion and flowed seamlessly from start to finish. Sammie went next, followed by Jessica and then George. After all the kids had played their individual pieces, Mr. Francess went right into integrating the kids into the orchestra. He had the whole orchestra, including the kids, play two Christmas songs together.

Hannah came up onto stage at this point and stopped Mr. Francess from starting another piece, “These kids could be hired today into any orchestra, but they are still kids in school. Child labor laws restrict how long they can work before requiring a break. Our governing board puts even more restrictions on the state’s regulations. So, twenty-minute break for the kids. Since I need to talk with Jim, everyone else can take a fifteen-minute break.”

Nods were seen around the stage.

“Sammie and Cindy,” Mr. Frances stated. “Can you please show Jessica and George where the break room is,” Mr. Frances gestured towards backstage. “You can leave your instruments here. I’ll send someone back to get you in twenty minutes.”

The kids all got up and followed Sammie backstage. They noticed that the parents in the audience were also moving toward the backstage door. In the break room, the kids spent some time catching up with each other before Joyce sent Sammie and Cindy off to use the bathroom. When they left, Jessica and George figured they probably should go too. In what seemed like no time at all, the kids were back on stage.

The kids had to re-evaluate Mr. Frances’ camp name as the silent judge. As Musical Director and Principal Conductor, he was much more vocal, stating what he wanted and how he expected the different sections of the orchestra to play parts of each musical piece. During this hour, the orchestra played through some of the music chosen for the concert.

Marcus showed up about half way through the hour. Although the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra does not have anyone playing the electric guitar, most of the musicians had heard of other orchestras which included them. What they weren’t ready for, was Mr. Frances stating that they would be performing a Trans-Siberian Orchestra style piece during the concert.

At the hour mark, Hannah came up on stage and took Jessica, Cindy, and Sammie off stage and to their break room. The parents joined them.

“Tomorrow we will change things,” Hannah said to the parents. “We will keep the kids on stage for one or two songs and then send them back here while everyone else practices one or two songs. Sometimes the kids will be doing the same song, but a lot of the time they will not be. George and Marcus are fifteen, so they are allowed to practice longer between breaks. This also means they will be doing more songs than the others.”

“That’s not fair,” Jessica complained.

“You’re right,” Hannah responded. “Unfortunately, the law is very clear. There are different standards for kids under fourteen. That is completely out of my control.”

“Then who do I make my argument to?”

“Jessica,” her dad piped in. “This is not your mom’s courtroom. Mrs. Evans is following the law, and it is your job to also follow the law. Without argument, young lady.”

“Yes, Dad,” Jessica’s head slumped down.

Hannah turned to Joyce, “I did notice that after 30 minutes Sammie was more fidgety and not as focused. I will keep an eye on this tomorrow and make adjustments if needed.”

“Thank You,” Joyce responded.

“Part of rehearsal for the kids is to learn the songs and be prepared for the performance, but another part is figuring them out. We need them to be their best while on stage during the Christmas Concert, and that will include some backstage time to get the wiggles out. We just need to figure out a good balance between the two.”

“I’m a big girl. I can last the whole concert,” Sammie declared.

“I can too,” Cindy added.

Hannah got down to the girl’s height, “Oh I know you two can last the whole concert, but as Stage Director, it is my job to make sure my princesses are seen for their cuteness, not their fidgeting. It is okay to have you two backstage during parts of the concert. Even some grown-ups will have backstage time during some performances.”

Looking over at Jessica for a moment before continuing, “Now, I have a very special idea for the two of you and Jessica, if she wants to join in. Remember how you reacted when you saw the big tree on stage for the first time?”

Sammie and Cindy nodded their heads in agreement.

“I want the two of you to start the Christmas concert by doing that again in pretty Christmas Dresses. Then we will have you open boxes under the tree containing your instruments, like you got them for Christmas. You pretend you are all excited about getting the instruments and start playing the song White Christmas. Conductor Frances will decide how much of the song you play before more of the orchestra joins in, but I thought it would be a good way to start the concert.”

Standing up, Hannah looked at Jessica, “What do you think? Would you be interested in joining Sammie and Cindy in this?”

“I’m not a little kid,” Jessica stated. “And I don’t wear cutesy little girl Christmas dresses. I don’t wear dresses at all.”

Jessica’s dad cleared his throat, “You will be wearing a dress for the Christmas Concert young lady.”

“But Dad.”

“Listen Jessica,” her dad glared at her. “You will be wearing a dress for this concert and that is the end of that discussion. I won’t force you into a cutesy little girl dress like I am sure Cindy and Sammie will be wearing, but you will be wearing a dress. Consider yourself lucky that I was the one that brought you to this rehearsal. If your mother had heard this offer, she would insist you be in a cutesy little girl dress to match what Cindy and Sammie will be wearing. She would also insist you open the Concert just like the other girls.”

Cindy nodded her head in agreement, “She probably would Jessica. Remember what she did at Summer Camp.”

Memories of discovering only dresses in her summer camp suitcase flooded Jessica’s thoughts, “Yeah, she probably would. Okay, I’ll wear a dress, but only for the performance. No cutesy little girl dress.”

“I want a cutesy little girl Christmas dress,” Cindy interjected.

“Me too, me too, me too,” Sammie added.

Joyce chuckled, “I was planning on taking you two Christmas Concert dress shopping later this weekend, but we could do it earlier. You two want to do it this afternoon?”

Sammie and Cindy were jumping up and down while nodding their heads in agreement, “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!”

“Can we join you,” Jessica’s dad asked. “You can probably help Jessica find a nice dress for the concert better than I could. It would also help to not have her mom dress shopping for Jessica.”

Jessica’s eyes went wide, “We definitely don’t want Mommy dress shopping for me. She won’t stop at one dress.”

The adults all laughed.

“Sure,” Joyce stated. “Another girl along for dress shopping will be no problem.”

“Well, then, I will see you all tomorrow morning,” Hannah stated. “Remember to bring stuff for the kids to do in this room during breaks.”

George’s Dad looked at his son, “I think we should probably go shopping too for a nice outfit for the concert. You’ve probably already outgrown the suit you wore this summer for the camp concert.”

“Good point,” Marcus’ Mom looked at her son. “We probably don’t have good Symphony Orchestra clothes for you either. You definitely can’t wear any of your Rock Concert outfits. You will need something much more respectable.”

Marcus rolled his eyes. Glaring at Jessica, he pointed at her and then at the adults talking with Hannah about what the kids should be wearing the night of the Christmas Concert.

Jessica went up to Marcus, “Sorry. You’re not going to be the only one in uncomfortable clothes. Can’t believe my dad is insisting I wear a dress for the concert.”