Students will serenade listeners at the University of Wyoming Collegiate Chorale’s tenth-annual Chorale by Candlelight concert, performed Nov. 28 and Nov. 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the St. Matthew’s Cathedral in downtown Laramie.
The theme of this year’s popular holiday concert is “The Returning.”
“This season brings opportunity for sharing, giving, healing, peace and strengthening community; and the program, ‘The Returning,’ includes a variety of music to highlight these themes,” UW Director of Choral Activities Nicole Lamartine told UW News. “Music from many spiritual traditions serves to connect the program, and members of the choir offer their own poetry.”
The Collegiate Chorale is comprised of about 40 audition-selected singers. The selective choir performs compositions from the fifteenth century to today and has traveled and performed around the U.S. and internationally, representing UW at conventions for the American Choral Directors Association, Music Educators National Conference and the Music Teachers National Conference and abroad at concert halls and cathedrals in England, Wales, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Mexico and Brazil.
Directed by Lamartine, the choir will be accompanied by pianist Ginny Gingrich and guitarist Jeff Selden, UW Department of Mathematics and Statistics lecturer. Lamartine also directs the Vocal Jazz Ensemble and the Singing Statesmen, an all-male ensemble and one of the University’s newest performance groups.
The concert lineup Wednesday and Thursday includes the 1724 “Sanctus” from Bach’s Mass in B Minor, one of his last compositions; Eric Whitacre’s “Goodnight Moon,” a contemporary piece based on the children’s book of the same name; and the new “If You Want to Hold My Hand,” by Minnesota composer Kyle Pederson. The Chorale’s performance of “If You Want to Hold My Hand” will be the piece’s premiere.
“Grow Little Tree,” a contemporary piece by Arkansas-native Andrea Ramsey, will feature the choir’s graduating seniors. The concert will conclude with the Chorale’s tradition of inviting the audience to sing along with the holiday classic “Silent Night” while the church is illuminated by candlelight.
The concert sells out every year, so Lamartine encourages people to buy tickets early. Tickets are $6 for students, $10 for the public and $7 for senior citizens. Seating is general admission; doors open at 7 p.m.
Tickets are available for purchase at the Wyoming Union information desk and the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts box office. They can also be purchased online at UWyo.edu/finearts or by calling 307-766-6666.
