Northwest Choral Society to present 'The Many Moods of Christmas'
The Northwest Choral Society, under the direction of Alan Wellman, will present its first concert of the season, titled "The Many Moods of Christmas," at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6, at Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7, at St. Raymond's Church in Mount Prospect.
The concert will feature Daniel Pinkham's Christmas Cantata, along with Robert Shaw and Robert Russell Bennett's popular arrangement of 18 Christmas carols grouped into four suites titled "The Many Moods of Christmas."
Five members from the Chicago Gargoyle Brass Ensemble will accompany the chorus. The chamber group, which includes faculty and former students at the University of Chicago, has performed recitals, major liturgical works and organ and brass concerts in major churches in the Chicago area.
Daniel Pinkham was a prolific and versatile composer whose catalog includes four symphonies, works for large ensembles, cantatas and oratorios, concertos and other works for solo instrument and orchestra, theater works, and 20 documentary television film scores. Christmas Cantata was composed when Pinkham was 34 and teaching at Harvard University. He subtitled the work Sinfonia Sacra, indicating a relatively large scope, as it captures the spirit of the season via its Latin texts and the variety in color and pace of its music.
Pinkham was named Composer of the Year by the American Guild of Organists and Musician of the Year by the Boston Musicians' Association and he received the Alfred Nash Patterson Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to the Choral Arts.
"The Many Moods of Christmas" was made famous in a best-selling 1963 early stereo recording by the Robert Shaw Chorale and Orchestra, and subsequently was rerecorded by Shaw with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
A complimentary preconcert lecture and discussion of the music will be hosted by chorus member John Morrison 45 minutes prior to each concert.
Lipke-Kentex-Hesse/Dionne Supply of Chicago, David Sung Lee Corporation, Dunbrook Cleaners, Rogue-Wolf Productions and Glenview State Bank/Mount Prospect State Bank are providing much appreciated sponsorship financial support for the Northwest Choral Society's 2014-15 concert season.
Tickets for the "The Many Moods of Christmas" concert are $25 for adults and $20 for students and seniors and may be obtained online at www.nwchoralsociety.org, by calling (224) 585-9127 or one hour prior to either the Dec. 6 concert at the Grace Lutheran Church, 7300 Division St., River Forest, or the Dec. 7 concert at St. Raymond Catholic Church, 320 S. Elmhurst Ave., Mount Prospect.
Founded in 1965, the Northwest Choral Society is a nonprofit organization that promotes and encourages the appreciation, understanding and performance of a wide variety of outstanding choral literature. Its adult membership resides in the Chicago area.
The Northwest Choral Society invites experienced singers to audition to join the organization. Basses, tenors, altos and sopranos with previous choral experience and at least 17 years of age can obtain additional information about the Northwest Choral Society at www.nwchoralsociety.org.
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