COSTA MESA : An Act That They Can Sing About

It is a weekday night at Our Town Apartments, and the sound of children singing can be heard throughout this typical apartment complex.

Gathered in the recreation room, next to the pool table and “Rampage” video game machine is a hodgepodge of 50 children who share an address and a common goal. Since November, these youngsters have joined together at the center of this sprawling complex because they want to put on a Christmas concert.

Not an easy task considering that a month ago they did not even know each other, let alone the words to “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

But with a little help and a lot of practice these 4- to 13-year-olds representing a mixture of cultures are starting to sound and act like a choir.

“I don’t know, it is just something wonderful that is happening here,” said Sharon Brown, assistant manager of the apartment complex, who is using her own church choir experience to help guide the children. “What they are coming up with is going to be a winner.”

After a long and difficult summer, with some fights and even a few broken windows, Brown decided something had to be done.

Starting with a songbook and a flyer announcing a Christmas choir, Brown went door to door handing out booklets and inviting children to join. That was all it took.

“Kids were coming up to me and asking me for the book,” she said. “I saw the songbook was getting their attention.”

The fledgling group quickly grew from 23 members to its current 50. They also got an accompanist, Oliver Jackson of Simi Valley Second Missionary Church, to play the piano, and Santa’s Treeland of Costa Mesa donated a massive tree to brighten their concert hall, which doubles as the complex’s community room.

Twice a week they gather with sheet music in hand, belting out such familiar tunes as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and other lesser known songs with an upbeat gospel flair. Their progress is evident. With a little more than a week to go before concert time, they are reading sheet music, conquering difficult songs and chatting about solos.

Michael Romo became interested in the choir when his sister received one of the flyers. The fourth-grader, whose favorite songs are “Silent Night” and “Rejoice,” said that someday he might even want to turn his interest in music into a profession.

“I like . . . singing,” said Michael, 9, who attends Killybrooke Elementary School. “It is fun.”

But it isn’t all about singing. There are also the friendships the children are making, and the teamwork and sense of accomplishment they will feel Dec. 19 when the concert is held in the complex’s community center at 7:30 p.m.

For those who are helping, like Brown and Jackson, it is a chance to give something back to the community.

“This is just doing it for them,” said Jackson, who drives from his job in Santa Monica two days a week to accompany the children. “It is an opportunity to point kids in the right direction.”

During a recent rehearsal, the children fidgeted and giggled as they went through their repertoire of songs one more time with Jackson at the piano. Brown dashed around the room, coaxing the singers like a mother trying to get her children ready in time for the school bus. “Come on, guys, sing,” she urged. “Stretch it out softly. . . . Yes. Yes.”

“These kids have a lot of energy,” Jackson said while taking a quick break. “They will be ready.”