A 2-Year-Old Broke Choir Rules and Created a Magical Moment

Nora Gross stood in the front row of her church’s children’s choir during the annual Christmas concert, singing along like everyone else—at least at first. Then the 2-year-old, who would turn 3 just days later, decided to do something entirely her own, creating a moment that quickly went viral online.

Dressed in a silver-and-red plaid dress, Nora calmly stepped out of the choir line and moved to the front of the stage. Still singing, she opened her arms wide, spun around, and even stopped to hug the choir instructor. She wandered briefly toward the musicians off camera before returning to center stage, where she began conducting with confidence and enthusiasm. Instead of guiding her back into place, the music instructor joined in, helping Nora mirror her conducting motions.

A video of the moment, recorded by parishioner Jennifer Farrar and later shared on TikTok, shows the audience breaking into cheers as Nora took over the stage.

Farrar said she had noticed Nora even before she began filming.
“When the kids started singing and I took a short video, I saw her step forward and thought, ‘I need to follow her—something special is about to happen,’” Farrar said. “She absolutely delivered. The entire audience burst into applause, and we all knew we were witnessing something truly special.”

For Nora’s parents, Jayna and Otto Gross, the moment was adorable—but entirely in character.

“Nora is very free,” Jayna said. “She’s confident. She sings, she dances. She’s fearless.”
“She’s definitely brave,” Otto added. “She has two older siblings and isn’t afraid to try anything. Being in front of thousands of people doesn’t faze her at all.”

Still, the parents weren’t quite sure how things would unfold as they watched her leave the formation. Jayna was observing from the balcony, where she had been encouraging the children to smile while they sang.
“When I saw her moving, I thought, ‘Oh no—what’s about to happen?’” she recalled.

Otto, who was on stage directing the concert, had a similar moment of uncertainty.
“My brain was really hoping everything would be okay,” he said. “And it turned out beautifully.”

Nora’s impromptu conducting was a natural reflection of her upbringing. Both of her parents are professional musicians who met while studying at Berklee College of Music. Jayna is a music teacher, and Otto serves as the worship director at Christ Church Nashville, where the concert took place.

“She’s grown up watching us conduct,” Jayna said. “For her, this probably felt completely normal.”

Nora’s older siblings were also part of the performance, though they were so focused on their own roles that they barely noticed her moment in the spotlight.

Today, the Gross household includes four children and is filled with music and joy. The kids frequently attend choir rehearsals led by their father, where singing, dancing, and creativity are everyday occurrences.

“Music just pours out of us as a family,” Jayna said. “It shows up in dancing, singing, playing instruments—there’s always some kind of creative expression.”

She added that the children—son Otto and daughters Nova, Nora, and Noelle—take after their father’s joyful spirit.
“This man will start dancing in the middle of a grocery store,” she said. “Joy is central to our family, and our kids know how to share it.”

Jayna and Otto emphasized that they’ve never pushed their children into music. Instead, all four naturally gravitate toward it.

In the comment sections of the viral videos, many viewers praised choir instructor Beth Kolwyck for allowing Nora the freedom to express herself—a sentiment her parents strongly agree with.

“It would have been easy to pull her back and say, ‘Get in line,’” Jayna said. “But allowing that freedom—that’s where creativity, music, and love really begin. I’m grateful that it was encouraged.”