The mixed chorus and chamber choir are set to preform Thursday’s showing of Disney’s Candlelight Processional at the Epcot Showcase in Orlando.

Both second-year Candlelight junior Emily McClendon and the veteran four-time Candlelight senior Shelley Mitchell are looking forward to the opportunity.

“I’m definitely as excited as last year,” said McClendon, a mixed chorus participant. “It’s just a lot of fun. I’m most existed for performing all the songs. It’s a big event. So many people come, and we put in a lot of practice so it’s just really nice to be in the moment.”

Mitchell said both choruses have been practicing diligently for this big event.

“We work on the pieces in class,” said Mitchell, a chamber choir participant. “We are actually doing one of the Candlelight pieces for our concert. Everyone in the class has to pass off the song to show they have memorized it [in order] to be able to go.”

The chamber and mixed chorus are the only groups from the school going to the Candlelight Processional on Thursday.

“With women’s (chorus), it might have been too big of a group, or [director Amy Davis] just wanted a smaller group with better quality sound,” Mitchell said.

Admission to the theme park is required in order to view the performances.

“Its a super-cool event,” Mitchell said. “They have all the typical carols and songs, but they’re all done in different languages or they’re like redone as a new Disney version. If you have never seen it before, you should definitely go and see it, and it would be even cooler if you come and see it when your school is there.

“You know, every performance every year, it’s something different because there’s a different narrator,” Mitchell said. “Last year, we had the Allstate guy (Dennis Haysbert). This year, our narrator is Edward James Olmos. But you know,  it never gets old. It’s always fun, and I’m going to try and amp that up for my last year.”

Edward James Olmos is an American actor and director. Among his most memorable roles are William Adama in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica

Showtimes take place each day of the event at 5 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. These performances include the Christmas story told by a different celebrity narrator, accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra and mass choir. This event will run from Nov. 28 – Dec. 30.

For more information, visit https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/epcot/candlelight-processional/

By Daphna Krause