Heartland Voices to perform holiday concerts this weekend
Heartland Voices will open its 20th season with "This Christmastide: Rejoice," a concert of holiday music. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14, at Bethany Lutheran Church, 8 S. Lincoln St., Batavia; 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15 at First United Methodist Church, 216 S. Highland Ave., Elgin; and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 16, at Shepherd of the Prairie Lutheran Church, 10805 Main St., Huntley.
Tickets for the Saturday concerts are $20; $15 for seniors and students.
The Friday evening concert at Bethany Lutheran Church in Batavia and the Sunday afternoon concert at Shepherd of the Prairie Church in Huntley will be accepting a freewill offering.
For information or to purchase tickets, visit www.heartlandvoices.org or call Heartland Voices at (847) 429-9486.
The concert will be headlined by the world premiere of Donald Fraser's "Magnificat."
This piece was commissioned by Heartland Voices to honor the life and memory of Dee Erickson Slawson, a co-founding member of Heartland Voices and wife of its conductor and artistic director, John Slawson.
"Magnificat" is a marvelous work with the text derived from Mary's song - Magnificat, sung in Latin - and interpolated verses of a 19th-century poem about the Songs of Mary.
The concert will also present choral compositions by a variety of composers both new and familiar.
Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo is a favorite of Heartland Voices. Members will sing his "Ave Generosa" and "Ecce Novum," both selections singing of the new birth and Jesus' mother, Mary.
A couple of Heartland favorites are the husband and wife team of Tim Takach and Jocelyn Hagen with "Joseph" and "O Come, O Come Emmanuel."
A couple of new compositions for Heartland Voices are Fredrik Sixten's "Alleluia" and KC Daugirdas' arrangement of "Silent Night".
Rounding out the concert are lighter pieces "Winter Wonderland of Snow" and "Variations on 'Jingle Bells,'" arranged by Mark Hayes; "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" arranged by Kirby Shaw; and John Rutter's "Angels' Carol."
The concert will conclude, as it has for the past 20 years, with "This Christmastide" by Donald Fraser.