Christmas Choral Concert set for Dec. 17

CANTON, Mo. 鈥 乱伦社区鈥檚 Christmas Choral Concert, which has ushered in the holidays at the school and the Canton community for more than 150 years, will be at 7 p.m. Dec. 17 in the Alexander Campbell Auditorium in the Robert W. Brown Performing Arts Center.

The concert will begin with the 60-voice Collegiate Choir singing a joyful, syncopated processional based on the ancient chant 鈥淰eni, Veni Emmanuel鈥 by Michael John Trotta, continue the rhythmic energy with 鈥淣o茅l Ayisyen,鈥 a carol from Haiti, and then showcase seasonal works of John Rutter, Eric Whitacre and Charles Ives.

The Chamber Choir will offer a wide contrast of styles, ranging from the 鈥淗odie Christus natus est鈥 of Heinrich Sch眉tz to the lovely Hugo Distler arrangement of 鈥淟o! How a Rose E鈥檈r Blooming鈥 and the more angular and syncopated 鈥淎ve Maria鈥 by Javier Busto.

The Concert Choir enters with its own processional to an arrangement of 鈥淥 Come, O Come, Emmanuel鈥 arranged with a completely different sense of time and grandeur. Capturing the rejoicing of the season with the Parker/Shaw arrangement of 鈥淐hrist was born on Christmas Day鈥 and 鈥淗allelujah, Christ is Born鈥 by Rosephanye Powell, the Concert Choir charges the tempo with Andr茅 J. Thomas鈥檚 鈥淩ockin鈥 Jerusalem鈥 before returning to the peace of the season in the Hughes/Loose 鈥淟ullaby for a King鈥 and ending with their traditional 鈥淧eace, Peace鈥 with candlelight 鈥淪ilent Night.鈥

Scotty Allison conducts all the choral ensembles.

A brass quintet and saxophone quartet will provide instrumental interludes under the direction of Aren Van Houzen and Trent Hollinger respectively. A dessert reception in Merillat Chapel and Recital Hall will follow the concert, with light seasonal music provided by various instrumental ensembles.

Admission is free. The concert also will be streamed live on Culver-Stockton鈥檚 Facebook page.

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Contact the Marketing & Public Relations Office, at pr@culver.edu or 573-288-6000 ext. 6728 for more information.

NOTE: A number that appears immediately after a person鈥檚 name (i.e. Jane Doe 鈥18) is a reference to the year that person earned their bachelor鈥檚 degree from Culver-Stockton.