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SCC’s A Choral Christmas Concert will be held Friday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m. at First Christian Church
Somerset Community College’s Music Department and the Somerset Community Choir will present A Choral Christmas Concert on Friday, Dec. 5, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at First Christian Church, located at 1115 Highway 39 in Somerset.
The concert will feature choral Christmas selections from the Renaissance through the 20th century performed by the Somerset Community Choir and SCC’s College Chorus and Vocal Ensemble. Also featured are solos, ensembles and an audience sing-a-long of beloved Christmas carols.
Highlights of the evening include a performance of The Somerset Carol, a traditional English carol originating from Somerset, England. The choir will also be performing a spiritual from the West Indies titled The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy. Other selections include Hallelujah! (also known as The Hallelujah Chorus) from Handel’s Messiah as well as a choral arrangement of the traditional Italian carol, O Bambino. This arrangement has English verses with a refrain sung in Italian. The translation of the refrain: O Baby, my Lord, I see you trembling.
Another feature of the concert is The First Christmas Carol, a rousing choral piece based on the text found in the Gospel of Luke when angels are announcing the birth of Jesus to the nearby shepherds. Sung with great excitement, the composer uses the phrase great joy to highlight the emotion of the music.
SCC’s award winning Vocal Ensemble will be performing a cappella choral music including two English carols from the Dickens’ era titled Past Three A Clock and Ding Dong Merrily on High. Also being performed by Vocal Ensemble is one of the most gorgeous choral pieces to come out of the Renaissance, Thomas Luis de Victoria’s Christmas motet, O Magnum Mysterium (O Great Mystery).
“In this style of music, every choral part is a melody. Amazingly, though, all the different melodic lines fit together harmonically. With its flowing lines, one can almost see the beautiful architecture and stained glass windows of the large cathedrals it was originally performed in,” said Bob Hekel, the SCC Music Director.
Tickets are $5.00 in advance and $10.00 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased at three locations: SCC’s Box Office, Heritage Christian Bookstore (located at 304 Sallee Street), and First Christian Church. Please make checks payable to SCC Choral Association. For more information, please call the SCC box office at (606) 451-6766.
“We cordially invite you to be a part of this special evening of holiday music,” Hekel said.
Somerset Community College is a comprehensive two-year institution of higher education. SCC has campuses in Somerset and London, centers in Clinton, McCreary, Casey and Russell Counties. The website is www.somerset.kctcs.edu. Call for admission and registration information toll free at 1-877-629-9722.
KCTCS serves the Commonwealth through 16 community and technical college districts that form a seamless system of 62 campuses open or under construction. KCTCS colleges change lives by providing accessible and affordable education and training through academic and technical associate degrees; diploma and certificate programs in occupational fields; pre-baccalaureate education; adult, continuing and developmental education; customized training for business and industry; and distance learning. For more information, visit www.kctcs.edu.
