Some say it’s when the snow starts falling. Some say it’s when they put up their tree. And some say it’s the day before the holiday and they’ve just realized they haven’t done any shopping.

Up here in the North Country, though, it’s when the choirs perform.

“I have heard many people say this is a concert they put on their calendars,” said Helen Demong, Northern Lights Choir director. “It has a sense of coming home, and it’s how they kick off December.”

The Adirondack Singers held its annual concert already, but the Northern Lights Choir and the Northern Adirondack Vocal Ensemble have yet to perform.

Drew Benware directs the Northern Adirondack Vocal Ensemble. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

The Northern Lights Choir will perform its “Long Road Home” holiday concert at St. Bernard’s in Saranac Lake Friday, and NAVE will hold two performances of its “Festival of Lessons and Carols” concert in Plattsburgh on Dec. 21 and in Saranac Lake on Dec. 22.

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Northern Lights Choir

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For its holiday concert, the Northern Lights Choirs focuses on diversity, Demong said.

The Northern Lights Choir performs its annual holiday concert at St. Bernard’s Church in Saranac Lake in December 2018. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

“It’s going to be a mix of songs from many different countries, cultures, languages and religions,” she said in a phone interview Monday.

The concert will feature pieces in Hebrew and songs from Korea, Eswatini and France.

“One song we’re going to perform is a song that I found when the Notre Dame cathedral was burning,” Demong said. “It was a French hymn that people in Paris were singing.”

For this year’s concert, the Northern Lights Choir will be joined by a string quartet, NAVE director Drew Benware on piano and North Country Public Radio String Fever host Barb Heller on guitar.

The Northern Lights Choir is the brainchild of composer Glen McClure and Demong, a Crane School of Music alumna and former music teacher at Saranac Lake High School.

Helen Demong directs the Northern Lights Choir. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

McClure, a professor of Music and Humanities at Paul Smith’s College, approached Demong in the fall of 2012 and asked her to find singers in preparation for an oratory opera he wrote called “Voices of Timbuktu.”

All the singers had such a wonderful time performing the piece that they wanted to continue, and thus the Northern Lights Choir was born.

“There’s a synergy about it,” Demong said in a previous interview. “They lift each other up. It is one of the most beautiful large ensemble choruses.”

Now up to about 70 members, Demong said that number, plus the number of people who show up to the concert every year, speaks volumes of the support of live music and the arts in the community.

“It’s one of the finest large-group ensembles in the North Country,” she said. “Some of our music invokes such feelings of joy and beauty, and people are moved by what they hear. Each year, we’ll have 350 to 400 people show, and it gives them a chance to see neighbors and friends and share connections through music.”

Drew Benware, who directs the Northern Adirondack Vocal Ensemble, also plays piano for the Northern Lights Choir. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

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Northern Adirondack Vocal Ensemble

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The 20-person group NAVE is modeled after the King’s College Choir of Cambridge, England.

“Since they’ve begun in 1928, they follow the same format in terms of readings interspersed with carols,” Benware said in an interview Monday. “For this show, as in year’s past, our readings will be the same even though our readers are novel. It’s a great way for the community to feel, even if they’re not singers, like a real active participant in this.”

Helen Demong directs the Northern Lights Choir. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

Benware said the focus of NAVE is to have a small chamber choir that develops and builds a connection over many years. This is the group’s ninth year together.

“Out of a chamber group of 20, there are six or seven that have been here since the very beginning,” Benware said. “That type of longevity helps a group form an identity rather than starting fresh every year. We have several new faces this year. We put out an all-call for open auditions, which yielded some great, new voices. It’s a nice mix of seasoned veterans, let’s say, and new friends.”

New to this year’s concert is a treble-only piece, “Coventry Carol,” sung by only women.

“That’s a four-part women’s piece, and I think that lends an air of authenticity because it’s a lullaby,” Benware said. “With just the treble voices it really makes it sound like a mother singing a lullaby to her son. That adds a nice, personal touch. And I would say most of the treble voices in our group are mothers themselves, so that’s a real point of connection there.”

Benware said one of the most challenging pieces NAVE will perform is “Today Christ is Born,” a song from the Renaissance. He has a system for identifying song difficulties — a green light is no problem, a yellow light is practice the song a little, and a red light is practice this song every week. “Today Christ is Born” was a red light.

“There’s a lot of imitation. There’s a lot of style changes. It just keeps the choir really on its toes,” he said. “We had to practice it every week. The choir has really grown into it. It’s a workout mentally and physically, but it’s really fun.”

Though NAVE is mainly a cappella, some songs will be accompanied by recorder, hand drums and organ.

“It’ll be a great chance for the audience to hear the brand new organ at St. Agnes Church,” Benware said.

Like Demong, Benware said the North Country is an amazing venue for this type of choral music.

“It’s an incredibly supportive place to live,” he said. “It also speaks to me of traditions, and how this area, be it Olympic flair, time with family or musical traditions, traditions are important to the people of this area. We’re just so honored that people have taken this on as a personal tradition of theirs.”

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If you go

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Who: Northern Lights Choir

What: “The Long Road Home” winter concert

Where: St. Bernard’s Church, 27 St. Bernard St., Saranac Lake

When: Friday at 8 p.m.

How much: $10 donation

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Who: Northern Adirondack Vocal Ensemble

What: “A Festival of Lessons and Carols” Christmas concert

Where: St. Peter’s Church, 114 Cornelia St., Plattsburgh and St. Agnes Church, 169 Hillcrest Ave., Lake Placid

When: Saturday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. in Plattsburgh and Sunday, Dec. 22 at 4 p.m. in Lake Placid

How much: Suggested donation of $10

The Northern Lights Choir poses in 2018. (Photo provided)