Community Choir to perform ‘O Holy Night’
COSHOCTON – “O Holy Night” is the theme of the Coshocton Community Choir’s Festival Christmas Concert on Sunday, Dec. 4, at 3 p.m. The concert is under the direction of Charles R. Snyder and features the 100-voice adult choir, now in its 46th season.
“For several years I have thought about a Christmas concert that would include some ‘tableaux’, where motionless figures present scenes from the story as it unfolds,” shared Snyder. “So this year the music and narration have been tailored to be part of this ‘live nativity’. We can talk so much about the implications of Christmas that we sometimes forget to really listen to the story. This concert goes back to the basics, the story of a child born in a Bethlehem manger many years ago. The Reverend Richard Hoover is once again writing the narration for us.”
Snyder feels the concert theme is fitting for this year. “The beloved Christmas song ‘O Holy Night’ gives us focus at a particularly divisive time in our country’s history,” he said. “These words from that song ‘Truly, he taught us to love one another, his law is love and his gospel is peace’, are a message we all need to hear right now. The audience will enjoy the opportunity to join the choirs in singing some favorite carols ‘Silent Night,’ ‘We Three Kings,’ and ‘Joy to the World,’ to name a few. We will be singing several pieces by composers with strong Ohio ties: John Ness Beck, Craig Courtney, and Stephen Caracciolo, and I believe that Mark Hayes’ jazz-inspired song, ‘Here’s One’, will be an audience favorite.”
This season is the 13th anniversary of The Coshocton Singers (founded as the Coshocton Children’s Choir), and the 15th season of the Coshocton Youth Chorale. They will both add unique contributions to the concert. One of the selections by The Coshocton Singers will be accompanied by bassoon, oboe, and piano and will take listeners back in time to the 17th century. Pianists Dickie Barrick and Mark Wagner will be joined by the Roscoe Brass Quintet and percussionist Tom McLeish as they provide accompaniment for the choirs.
“Each year we have several people in the audience who have never been to one of our concerts before and they are blown away by the music of bringing together over 200 singers and musicians from across central Ohio to present a concert of this caliber,” said Jan Myers, long-time member of the Coshocton Community Choir. “Attending this Christmas concert each year has become a tradition for many in our audiences and we invite you to join us as well. We all love to share the joy of the season with you.”
The Coshocton Community Choir concert will be held at McKinley Auditorium located at Coshocton High School, 1205 Cambridge Road at 3 p.m. Tickets for the Sunday, Dec. 4, “O Holy Night” Christmas Festival Concert are $10 for adults and $5 for students and are available from choir members, at the door or by calling Business Manager Lee Bown at 740-622-3960. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.CoshoctonCommunityChoir.org.
Pre-sale tickets are also available from these outlets: Coshocton Visitors Bureau and Annin Showroom in Roscoe Village; Triplitt Pharmacy, Buehler’s and Marilyn’s Natural Foods in Coshocton; Home Loan Savings Bank in West Lafayette and at Baker’s Foods in Newcomerstown.
Find out more about the Coshocton Community Choir, the Coshocton Singers, and the Coshocton Youth Chorale by calling the choir office at 740-623-0554, on the Coshocton Community Choir Facebook page, or on their website www.CoshoctonCommunityChoir.org.
Category: Arts & Entertainment
