ORANGE PARK – Raising the viola, Robert Poole tucked the string instrument between his chin and shoulder, pulled the bow across the strings accompanying choral singers in the traditional hymn, “Go Tell it on the Mountain” and other cultural songs at the W.E. Cherry annual holiday concert.

Fifty-four members of the chorus, string orchestra, and the bluegrass group called the Cherry Pickers, sang and played a variety of cultural holiday songs with Hispanic, Welsh and Jewish roots. Each member of the string orchestra and Cherry Pickers learned the choral arrangements as well.

Poole, a sixth grade musician who also played the banjo on a few songs with the Cherry Pickers, said learning to play music with classmates who are also interested in music helped him make new friends.

“At my other school, before I came here, we had nothing but the chorus,” said Poole, who is 11. “I’m glad I came here because I made friends and Mr. Murch brought out music I never knew about.”

Fifth-grader Cherlyssa Alcineus, 10, sang with the chorus during the Dec. 15 performance on the W.E. Cherry campus at 420 Edson Dr. but she also plays the first chair violin with the string orchestra. Although she said singing in front of her schoolmates “is nerve-racking,” she enjoys participating in events such as the school concert.

“I love singing in front of my friends,” Alcineus said. “I love them seeing how fun it could be to join chorus so we have more chorus members, more orchestra members, so we have a bigger community of music to make it more alive.”

She also said playing with the orchestra is considered prestigious at the school.

“At other schools, being in orchestra might be considered nerdy or weird or just plain dumb but with our school, it’s really cool because we do stuff that people don’t usually do,” Alcineus said. “Sometimes we go with advanced songs, sometimes we go with easy songs like Jingle Bells so it’s very different.”

Music teacher Gary Murch makes it a point to incorporate songs from different cultural groups.

“In order to acknowledge the different cultures in W.E. Cherry, I try to make programs relevant so everybody can feel like they’ve been acknowledged,” Murch said. “There are so many other traditions, you can’t tie in everything, but I’m making an effort to show we care about all cultures.”

The instruments filling Murch’s classroom are owned by the student, are on loan or were donated to the school. In preparation for the concert, students studied music three days a week after school and at home. Alcineus said seeing Murch’s passion for the subject makes her want to practice more and to do her best.

“He works his butt off to do this stuff,” Alcineus said. “You always see him pacing around in front of the stage. We just want to do the best we can to make him happy.”

Murch said some of his students would probably never be exposed to stringed instruments but given the opportunity, they have latched on to learning about and playing music.

“One of my kids told me that he’s not involved in any sports or clubs after school but he enjoys the viola when he gets home from a school,” Murch said. “That’s a musician talking. Nobody’s knocking down doors to get kids to play the viola.”

Christian Suliveres, 12, picked up the viola because he had some free time and because he enjoyed the way Murch and John Davis, who helps teach the Cherry Pickers, make it interesting.

“They teach us the way,” said Suliveres, a sixth grader. “If you have nothing at home, then you go to orchestra. He wants us to practice hard and more.”