So when he is caroling at the San Antonio Zoo, he shows up prepared to sing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” on repeat.
“I think I sing it eight times an hour,” Kjos said. “Because the kids walk by, they wonder what is happening? Why is he wearing that hat? And then we start singing something they know, and they light up.”
Kjos coordinates small caroling ensembles across San Antonio through American Caroling Company, a Nashville-based business that works with groups across the country. Several other San Antonians also pull together caroling groups this time of year, including those working under the banners of Conroy Entertainment and Events and the Quality Caroling Company.
Each gig requires something different — family-oriented performances call for lots of “Rudolph” and “Frosty the Snowman,” some groups may want more religious songs. The look varies, too, based on what clients want.
After the fear and the restrictions of the early days of the pandemic, caroling has taken on a deeper meaning for some.
San Antonio Zoo: Carolers from the American Caroling Company are singing during the day and at night as part of the Zoo Lights holiday programming at the zoo, 3903 N. St. Mary’s. Info, sazoo.org/zoo-lights.
The Pearl: Carolers from Conroy Entertainment and Events will sing from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday and Dec. 21 as part of the entertainment for the Holiday Night Markets at the site, 303 Pearl Parkway. Info, tinyurl.com/5n8s2e4j.
Centro San Antonio’s Holiday Pop-up: Singers from the Quality Caroling Company will be singing while folks shop from the small businesses selling their wares from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, 122 E. Houston. Info, tinyurl.com/2x749crz.
Historic Run Crew’s Holiday Lights Run: Carolers will be part of the run, which takes the fleet of foot on a three-mile course past landmarks that have been decorated for the holidays. Singers from the Quality Caroling Company will be stationed near “STREAM,” the voice-activated water wall on the San Pedro Creek, from 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. Dec. 20. Race info, tinyurl.com/59czzdhk.
“I don’t think that any of us took it for granted, but it taught you that it really could go away so fast,” Kjos said. “You don’t know how much you love it until it’s gone.”
The zoo performances have been fun, he said. The carolers stroll about in their Victorian garb, stopping at various points — including below the elevated walkway that the panther traverses or a few feet from the giraffe enclosure — to sing a few songs. On a recent visit, one little boy in a red T-shirt pleaded with his grown-up companions to listen a little longer as the carolers sang near the hippos.
Carolers are booked in all sorts of places, including malls, hotels, resorts, the Pearl, company Christmas parties and private homes.
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Kristina Jones, who founded Quality Caroling Company in 2018, said she’s always struck by the way people respond to hearing caroling in public spaces.
Sarah Marquez, from left, Shawn Kjos and Katie Molina sing Christmas carols to visitors at the San Antonio Zoo. They work with American Caroling Company, which works with carolers across the country.
Robin Jerstad
“They walk by and their face lights up when they realize that people are singing,” Jones said. “It always makes people happy,
and I try to include music in our programming that reflects that also. We have a couple of songs that are not well-known hits, but usually there are one or two people that are like, ‘I’m so happy you sang that.’ “
Jones began caroling more than 15 years ago when she was a vocal performance major at UTSA. She launched her caroling business to provide seasonal employment to classically trained vocalists like herself.
“As a side note from the Christmas-spirity part, I like that I can help other people make an income,” said Jones, who sends groups across San Antonio, into the Hill Country and to Austin. “I like that I have a system that helps other people get extra Christmas money or down payments for their vacation next year, that kind of stuff.”
Her singers’ training is reflected in the repertoire, which includes songs in foreign languages.
“In classical music programming, you have to learn how to sing in other languages even if you don’t understand the words,” she said, adding that the singers include the German translation of “Silent Night” in their performances. “In New Braunfels and Boerne, people appreciate that so much.”
Shavonne Conroy, who founded Conroy Entertainment 10 years ago, works from a standard book of carols, she said. Groups also take some requests. At one performance, someone asked to hear “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” which became a solo for the one singer who knew it by heart.
There is ae song that isn’t in their repertoire.
“I can’t find a ‘Little Drummer Boy’ that doesn’t drag like it’s a dirge,” Conroy said. “Every once a in while, we’ll get, ‘Do you know ‘Little Drummer Boy’? And we say, ‘No, so sorry.’ If someone has a great version of it, I would love to have it, but we just can’t find one.”
Kjos, Jones and Conroy all send groups out in the Victorian attire associated with caroling — capelets and hoop skirts on the women, formal jackets and top hats on the men.
Greg Garcia, from left, Kristina Jones and Gina Gutierrez pose with Mrs. Claus at a holiday gathering. Garcia, Jones and Gutierrrez sing with the Quality Caroling Company, which sends caroling ensembles out to events from San Antonio to Austin.
Kristina Jones and Anna Osterman
Sometimes clients ask for something else. Jones offers a “festive sweater” option– “A lot of people don’t like the word tacky,” she said. And sometimes the venue dictates the clothing.
“If it’s a smaller space, the hoop skirts don’t always work,” she said, noting that it’s tough to squeeze them into the close quarters of the Argyle, a private club in Alamo Heights.
The hats that Victorian women wore also don’t work for caroling because they cover the ears. Conroy discovered that problem several years ago when she was living in New York and got a gig on “Late Show With David Letterman.”
“I sang with the Victorian carolers on David Letterman for two years,” she said. “It was the holiday top 10, vastly inappropriate lyrics for Christmas carols, and the second year we did it, we had the Victorian hats on. And when Paul Shaffer rolled the chords, we could not hear them. There were eight of us, and we came in on eight different keys, I am sure. Luckily, it wasn’t really live, so Paul Shaffer said, ‘Let’s start that one again.’ “
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Being able to sing, having a broad knowledge of the material and wearing the right costumes are just part of what is required of carolers. Since they aren’t in the controlled environment of a theater, they have to be able to deal with the unexpected.
Katie Molina, who sings with Kjos, did a gig where lots of children who had been given big lollipops came up to hug her, leaving sticking handprints all over her difficult-to-clean skirt.
And Jones has a vivid memory of a gig at a home near Joint Base San Antonio — Lackland.
“We’re just in somebody’s front yard, and all of a sudden, they start lighting fireworks off behind us,” she said. “We keep singing, we keep going.
“Every year, something like this happens. This is probably just the most extreme example. Every year, some kind of tomfoolery happens, and you have to have the constitution to be able to deal with the imperfections of it, as well be prepared to do a really good job.”
dlmartin@express-news.net |Twitter: @DeborahMartinEN