The sounds reverberating around the Co-Cathedral of St Joseph in Prospect Heights are coming from the group “Music at Co-Cath” (MACC), gathered to prepare for a special concert centered around the story of “the little match girl.”
It tells the tale of a child who is selling matches in the cold, but must light them to keep herself warm, until she ultimately dies.
“This story grapples with suffering in a way that it invites us to not let it happen again, to not let those stories be silenced again, to do something about it,” said Music at Co-Cath Director Alejandro Zuleta.
And it’s a lesson the choir is sharing even before their big performance. Some 170 middle schoolers joined them for this open rehearsal.
“It made me reflect on myself and how sometimes we could just really help out other people,” said St. Elizabeth Catholic Academy sixth grade student, Kamila Cedeno.
As the kids learn about the meaning behind these notes, they are reminded of all they’re learning about Lent and this time of preparation.
“All the matches burned out and, and like, in Lent like you have to give up something and she gives up the matches,” said Holy Child Jesus Catholic Academy sixth grade student, Douglas Hartman.
“I think that it’s a good representation of Lent because the little match girl gave up, basically her life, just so that she wasn’t in the cold,” said Holy Child Jesus Catholic Academy sixth grade student, Emmanuel Hernandez.
This has MACC thinking about the music in a different way.
“The questions they come up with are things that I don’t even think to ask. And I think it’s really great to be reminded of curiosity and wonder and being open to learning new things,” said Music at Co-Cath Associate Director, Cristina María Castro.