Choral Christmas concert features more than 160 voices raised in song

KALAMAZOO—Western Michigan University presents the annual holiday favorite, "A Choral Christmas," featuring all three of its traditional choral ensembles, Saturday, Dec. 7. Concerts begin at 4 and 7:30 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 321 W. South St., in Kalamazoo.

General admission tickets are $15, $12 for senior citizens, and $5 for WMU students with a valid school ID. They are available at the door and through the Miller Auditorium Ticket Office at millerauditorium.com/som, (269) 387-2300 or (800) 228-9858. Doors will open 25 minutes before each performance. First Presbyterian is wheelchair accessible.

A Choral Christmas

"A Choral Christmas" will feature more than 160 students from the WMU School of Music. Performances will include the University Chorale, Collegiate Singers, and Men's Ensemble directed by Dr. Kimberly Dunn Adams; Cantus Femina directed by Dr. Dee Gauthier; University Organist Dr. Karl Schrock; and a student percussion ensemble. Accompanists Ahmed Anzaldua and Tina Gorter will also be featured, along with many WMU student soloists.

The concert will celebrate the anticipation—and arrival—of the winter season with familiar congregational carols, a candlelight Gregorian chant processional, and a surround-sound performance highlighting both the beauty of the music and the church’s architecture. This year, the programming highlights a musical, literary, and figurative transition from darkness into light.

The musical selections range from mysteriously understated to undeniably triumphant, and represent a variety of well-known carols, sacred motets, international folksongs, jazz selections, and contemporary compositions. Featured composers include David Willcocks, Morten Lauridsen, Francis Poulenc, Felix Mendelssohn, Alan Naplan, Agneta Sköld, and Guy Forbes. The concert will also feature pieces arranged by Craig Hella Johnson, John Rutter, and WMU’s Director of Vocal Jazz, Greg Jasperse.

For more information about the concert, visit wmich.edu/music or call (269) 387-4667.