Colleges schedule holiday concerts

Area colleges are again marking the Christmas season with holiday concerts. On this weekend’s schedule:

“Whitworth University’s Christmas Festival Concert, “Journey to Bethlehem,” takes place Friday and Saturday at First Presbyterian Church of Spokane.

It will feature the Whitworth Choir and Whitworth Women’s Choir, accompanied by brass and string student ensembles and organ, and tenor Scott Miller, an assistant professor of music at the school.

The program includes Healey Willan’s “Behold, the Tabernacle of God”; arias from Handel’s “Messiah”; Rachmaninoff’s “Bogoroditse Devo (Ave Maria),” sung in Russian; Daniel Pinkham’s “Christmas Cantata”; David Willcocks’ setting of “O Come, All Ye Faithful”; and Harold Darke’s arrangement of “In the Bleak Midwinter.”

Concerts are Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 3 and 7 p.m. at the church, 318 S. Cedar St. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students/seniors, by calling (800) 532-4668 or online at www.whitworth.edu/ musictickets.

“North Idaho College gives its annual “Sounds of Christmas” concerts on Saturday and Sunday in Coeur d’Alene.

The NIC Wind Symphony will perform pieces including “Fanfare and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” arranged by Mannheim Steamroller’s Chip Davis; Greg Sanders’ “Coventry Variant” carol; Warren Barker’s arrangement of “An Irving Berlin Christmas”; and Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride.”

The NIC Concert Choir, Madrigal Singers and Jazz Co. choir will present a program ranging from sacred to secular, Renaissance to 20th century, from Africa, Spain, England and the United States.

To close the concert, the symphony and choral groups will join forces for an audience singalong of familiar carols.

Performances are Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in NIC’s Schuler Auditorium. Admission is free.