The Chilliwack Festival Chorus is putting the final touches on its seasonal concert, The Winds of Christmas, set to be performed Dec. 4, in the Rotary Hall of the Cultural Centre.
The show features two absolute icons of Christmas music: the human voice in choir and wind instruments, jubilantly reminding listeners of the meaning of Christmas.
Joining the chorus will be new Tayosei Performing Group, a kids’ choir, and the Philomusica Woodwind Quintet made up of flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon. The Quintet will collaborate in the performance of seasonal favourites such as Vivaldi’s Gloria, Schubert’s Ave Maria, and the more contemporary, I Wonder as I Wander. The concert also boasts a world premire: a new as-yet-untitled work by one of Chilliwack’s very talented young composers, Shane Hanson.
Truly an inspiring way to celebrate the holidays, audiences can look forward to a concert that includes two choirs, a woodwind quintet, an original work by a local young composer, and both classical and popular Christmas music that spans the centuries, from the Renaissance to modern-day. One more element ties this varied program together: music from the East and South. With the addition of an instrument of Spanish origin but best known as Hawaiian, the fretted flavours of South American and Eastern European music make their way into the program. That instrument is, of course, the ukulele, and it has been enjoying a revival worldwide as well as in Chilliwack through the Academy of Music’s new “Uke Club” classes. With this profusion of styles, tastes, instruments and ensembles, the Winds of Christmas by the Festival Chorus will leave you breathless.
Winds of Christmas, Dec. 4, 2 p.m. in the Rotary Hall of the Cultch, tickets $20/$17, Box Office at 9201 Corbould Street, www.chilliwackculturalcentre.ca, or by telephone: 604-391-SHOW.
