Holiday concert season taking shape in suburbs
The holiday music season is already here, and because of the number of area events starting as soon as this weekend, we'll divide our preview over the next two weeks.
The St. Charles Singers open their 24th season this weekend with a program of holiday motets, anthems and carols to be performed in St. Charles and Wheaton.
The world-renowned professional chamber chorus will present its "Candlelight Carols" concerts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, 307 Cedar Ave., St. Charles; and twice on Sunday, a 3:30 p.m. performance at St. Michael Church, 310 S. Wheaton Ave., in Wheaton; and at 7 p.m., back at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church.
The chorus will sing a combination of works that are new to its repertoire, along with what founder and artistic director Jeffrey Hunt describes as "24-karat gold from 24 seasons of song."
"These are charming, incandescent works that we've performed only rarely over the years and which deserve to be heard again," Hunt said. Among those works are "Myn Lyking" by Richard R. Terry (1865-1938), with words from a 15th-century English text, and the melodic, superbly crafted "Jesus Christ, the Apple Tree" by Elizabeth Poston (1905-1987).
New to the ensemble's Christmas repertoire are selected works by prolific German composer Michael Praetorious (1571-1621); England's Sir William Walton (1902-1983), along with American composer Morten Lauridsen (born in 1943) and Germany's Karsten Gundermann (born in 1966).
Single tickets are $35, $25, $20 for seniors 65 and up and $10 for full-time students 23 and under, the latter a decrease from the group's previous $20 student admission. For information or to reserve tickets, call (630) 513-5272 or visit www.stcharlessingers.com.
Elgin Symphony Orchestra: The ESO's second annual "Holiday Showcase at the Sears Centre" will take place for one night only: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8, with music director Robert Hanson leading the orchestra in holiday selections. The concert will also include performances by Cirque du Soleil entertainers; internationally competitive ice dancers and the Chicago Jazz Synchronized Ice Skating Troupe.
Also prominently taking part will be a festival chorus numbering in the hundreds, including the Elgin Choral Union and the Elgin Children's Chorus.
Individual tickets starting at $29 are available through the Sears Centre Box Office. They can be purchased in person at the Sears Centre by calling 1-888-SEARSTIX (1-888-732-7784), or online at www.searscentre.com.
The Sears Centre is located in the Prairie Stone Business Park in Hoffman Estates, just north of the Northwest Tollway's Rt. 59 exit.
DuPage Symphony Orchestra: Music director Barbara Schubert will lead the DSO in "An Old World Christmas," a program of traditional English Christmas carols in orchestral settings by Brahms, Edward Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Bryan Kelly, at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 9, at North Central College's Pfeiffer Hall in Naperville.
Soprano Kimberly Jones, an alumna of Lyric Opera of Chicago's Ryan Center for American Artists, will join the orchestra for familiar arias by Bach and Handel, plus an assortment of popular seasonal tunes.
Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors 65 and up and $8 for both students (ages 18-25 with valid ID) and children under 18.
To reserve tickets, call the DSO office at (630) 778-1003, or the Pfeiffer Hall box office at (630) 637-SHOW.
Pfeiffer Hall is located at 310 East Benton Ave., on the southeast corner of Benton and Brainard, in Naperville.
William Ferris Chorale: To open its 2007-08 season, the William Ferris Chorale will present its annual Christmas concert at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, at Chicago's Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 690 W. Belmont Ave.
Music director Paul French will conduct a program of familiar holiday carols in special choral arrangements, including "Ave Maria," "Carol of the Bells," "O Holy Night," "Angels We have Heard on High" and many more.
Tickets are $20, $25 and $30, and are available by calling (773) 325-2000, with major credit cards accepted. Free parking is available.