Jingle All The Way
There is plenty of caroling going on at this time of year, and some of the best is happening this weekend. Three of Spokane’s best choruses are packing in concerts on Friday and Saturday, and with a little creative scheduling, you might be able to catch all three.
The choirs from Whitworth College and Gonzaga University each put on programs every year which have quite a following. And the busiest kids in town, the Spokane Area Children’s Chorus, are taking enough time off from appearing in everyone else’s program to present their own.
Whitworth’s “Wondrous Night” depicts the events directly preceding and following the birth of Christ, in music as well as Scripture and liturgical readings. The full 74-voice Whitworth Choir, the select 26 members of the Chamber Singers and the Women’s Choir will be joined by a brass quintet and a harp ensemble.
The music includes many hymns and folk carols. Director Bryan Priddy says that countries represented include England, Spain, France, Ireland and Austria. Although the choirs will be singing in six different languages at various times, the melodies will be familiar.
Gorgeous tunes like “Lo, How a Rose” and “Wexford Carol” will be sung, as well as stunning choral writing such as Halsey Stevens’ “Magnificat,” a portion of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Vespers” and music by Jacob Handl.
Gonzaga’s Christmas offering will be equally splendid, with an entirely different slate of music. “O Nata Lux” is the central theme for the concert, which features the 44-member Gonzaga University Choir, the Women’s Chorus and the Brass Ensemble.
Edward Schaefer, director of the choirs, has put together a program including some of the “biggest hits” from the past five to 10 years.
Three different settings of “Ave Maria” span the centuries from chant to baroque double-choirs to the present.
Four movements from Benjamin Britten’s “Ceremony of Carols” will be sung by the women, accompanied by harp, and familiar carols will include “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” “Sing We Now of Christmas” and “The Holly and The Ivy.”
Later this month, the Spokane Area Children’s Chorus will appear in the Spokane Symphony’s Holiday Pops concerts, on a Westminster Congregational Church noon holiday concert, and at St. John’s Cathedral for the Candlelight Christmas Concerts.
But first, they will give their own program this weekend, “Hodie!”
The concert will include all of the nearly 200 children in the chorus singing together and in five separate groups, from the Preparatory Choir up through the elite Ensemble.
Director Tamara Schupman has selected a wide variety of musical styles. The program opens with a Chanukah round, “Nun, Gimel, Hei, Shin” and proceeds with everything from Mozart to spirituals to “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.”
These two sidebars appeared with the story: 1. ON STAGE Christmas choruses
Whitworth College’s Christmas concert, “Wondrous Night,” takes place on Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 3 and 7 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 318 S. Cedar. Prelude music starts 20 minutes before each performance. Tickets are $10, through G&B (325-SEAT, 1-800-325-SEAT or www.ticketswest.com) or the Whitworth Music Office, 777-3280.
Gonzaga’s Christmas Candlelight Concert will be Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. at St. Aloysius Church on the Gonzaga campus, 330 E. Boone. Tickets are $10 for general admission, $7 for students or seniors in advance through G&B, or $13 and $10 at the door.
The Spokane Area Children’s Chorus presents “Hodie! — A Holiday Concert” Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Westminster Congregational Church, 411 S. Washington. Tickets are $6 for reserved seating (call 624-7992) or $5 for general admission.
2. UPCOMING Concerts in Idaho
Christmas choral concerts are coming up in North Idaho this weekend as well. The Coeur d’Alene Symphony Orchestra will be joined by the North Idaho College Choral Ensembles for a program called “The Sounds of Christmas.” Performance times are Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at NIC’s Schuler Auditorium. Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and $3 for 18 and under; call (208) 769-7780.
In Sandpoint, the North Idaho Chorale and Instrumental Ensemble offers an array of vocal music celebrating the birth of Christ, along with instrumental selections. Concerts will be presented Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Gardenia Center, 400 Church, and Sunday at First Lutheran Church, 255 S. Olive. Admission is free.