In their seventh year performing A Child’s Christmas in Wales, Vox Humana Chamber Choir is all about tradition.
“This is a very popular event. We usually see all the venues reaching capacity which is rather exciting,” said Brian Wismath, artistic director and conductor of Vox Humana.
The main focus of the concert is the Dylan Thomas Story, A Child’s Christmas in Wales, which many people may remember listening to on CBC Radio on Christmas morning or Christmas Eve.
“It’s a beautiful story that is essentially a reflection from an adult to their childhood growing up in Wales during Christmas time,” said Wismath. “It speaks to some of the chaos of the holidays as well as some of the more simple, beautiful aspects of that time of year.”
The idea behind the concert, he said, is to create an opportunity for people in the community to have a little break from the chaos of the holidays and come out and take part in something that warms their hearts and excites their spirits for the holiday season.
He said the event is geared towards people of all ages. They see some of the youngest members of the audience as well as some of the oldest.
Vox Humana has a reputation for doing newer contemporary music as well as some of the classics.
“This year’s program, I’ve dug a little bit farther to find repertoire that is new for us and for people coming to see this event,” he said.
They will do an arrangement of All Through the Night which is a traditional Welsh tune, commissioned by a B.C composer named David Archer, who is someone they work with quite a bit.
The will also perform a piece called Sleep by the world’s most popular choral composer, Eric Whitacre, along with some music in Swedish and more.
With about 26 singers, the Choir also performs regularly in the Victoria community. They will usually do five to six concert programs a season, and work regularly with the Victoria Symphony and other professional arts groups on the Island.
The performance will take place Dec. 23 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Anglican Church. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Admission is by donation.
