The Grace High School Serendipity music program recently made its mark in Utah, performing at venues such as Temple Square and City Creek Mall.
Serendipity is an extra-curricular choir program offered at Grace High School under the direction of Beth Buxton.
The program more than stands out in a crowd, especially considering the small size of Grace High School.
Almost half of the school's students participate in Serendipity or the program's band.
Buxton said Serendipity began performing at Temple Square in the early 2000s.
In December 2015, Buxton's Serendipity choir got their first-ever exclusive invite to perform at Temple Square's renowned Assembly Hall, an invite-only venue.
Serendipity so impressed that its Assembly Hall invites became an annual occurrence until the COVID-19 pandemic and massive Temple Square renovations caused a pause.
Last year Serendipity performed at the Tabernacle because of the ongoing work being done at Assembly Hall and this year marked a return to the Tabernacle.
The choir made its Utah trip last week during the bustling holiday season for another year of Salt Lake City performances starting with City Creek Mall, then an assisted living facility and lastly an evening spent at the Tabernacle.
Serendipity's Utah performances are very well received with Utahns often sending letters to Grace High School about how impressed they are with the students' beautiful voices. The Utahns are always surprised to hear that the school has only about 150 students.
Buxton said it is a huge privilege for the students who participate in Serendipity to perform in big venues such as the Assembly Hall and Tabernacle.
"I hope 15 to 20 years from now it will sink in and they will remember how big of a deal it was for them," she said. "The students are always excited to go and it's something we look forward to. This had been a tradition long before I started teaching at Grace, but I personally feel it offers another opportunity to perform in a place most schools don't have."
Participating in Serendipity requires a big time commitment as well as dedication from the students just like participating in a sports team does.
"Practice is a necessity, Buxton said. "We practice four hours a week from the first day of school preparing for these moments -- moments I hope they grow to appreciate."
Serendipity member Tessica Jorgensen, a Grace High School junior, said she looks forward to the choir's annual trips to Utah, especially singing at the Tabernacle.
"The lights, acoustics and Christmas spirit are a special experience," she said about the Tabernacle. "We got to sing eight songs and every song gave me the chills."