A group of 14 students from South Kitsap High School Vocal Music in Port Orchard, Washington put on an unusual and brilliant performance for their school’s Christmas concert.
Standing in two rows wearing somber hooded robes, the ‘silent monks’ didn’t say or sing a word but delighted the audience with their unique rendition of G.F. Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” nonetheless.
As the song played, each student flipped up a sign bearing a single word (or in some cases a single letter) in time with the music, adding in humorously artful swishes and sways for vibratos and held notes.
The littlest monk of them all jumped to hold the sign on high, while the tallest had to bend quite a bit to switch his signs. At some moments the monks dual-tasked a sign in hand while flipping up a second sign with their feet.
The floor around them was soon covered in signs as they quickly discarded and switched them out. Certainly the audience didn’t expect this when the procession of monks entered the stage, but as the music swelled so did the ripples of laughter. When the high schoolers finished, the audience rewarded their show with whistles and roars of approval.