Every year in the middle of the holiday season, a group of Ledyard High School students don top hats and Victorian cloaks, hop on a train from New Haven to Manhattan, and begin what Ledyard Carolers director Russell Hammond describes as "guerrilla caroling."

"We don't have any assigned gigs, we just walk around and sing," Hammond said. "We'll go to the Rockefeller Christmas tree and sing, and they'll kind of kick us out, and we'll go to Wollman skating rink — we'll just sing all over."

The idea began as a way for Hammond to mix things up for his students, and this year, the carolers will sing at many New York City landmarks in their one-day circuit of the city including the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Grand Central Terminal. But for many of the carolers, like senior Sasha Lopez-Watson, the best moments are the spontaneous interactions with people in New York where they break out into song.

"There will be a couple of people and they're like 'Hey, can you sing us a song?' and that's really cool to see, you don't necessarily see that all the time with a bigger group of people going around," Lopez-Watson said.

The Ledyard Carolers are among several groups in the region who perform holiday concerts in the community during December. Musical productions are staged from Stonington to the Lymes, in churches and school halls. Some are free. Some require a donation to the local food pantry. But all acts, including the Ledyard Carolers, highlight the season with music. (See calendar) 

The Ledyard group was founded in 1973, and in the more than 40 years since, the Carolers have become a holiday tradition in local schools, festivals and nursing homes.

Students audition in the spring, and 24 are selected. Rehearsals take place every Tuesday during the school year, in addition to a summer "Chorus Camp" where they learn the songs, such as "In the First Light," which Lopez-Watson describes as an "emotional tearjerker" for many audiences.

Last year, the Ledyard Carolers alumni returned for the holiday concert and sang "In the First Light" alongside the current students.

"It's so awesome to sing with people when they come back and sing with people you've looked up to," Lopez Watson said.

Senior Avery Davies, who like Lopez-Watson is a member of both the chamber choir and the Ledyard Carolers, said one of the experiences that sticks with him each winter is bringing music to the nursing homes, and the reaction the carolers receive.

"That's a lot of fun because the people there really like to hear us we go and sing songs and they are probably songs they haven't heard in forever," Davies said. "They sing along with us and it's just a really sweet thing."

For Hammond, the wide variety of performances underlines a welcome holiday spirit for audiences.

"It doesn't matter if you're singing for eight people or 1,000; the joy and the spirit is very unique," Hammond said.

The first event of the season for the carolers is Dec. 1 at the Downtown Mystic Holiday stroll.

n.lynch@theday.com