Nancy Washeim will again be joining the Sooke Philharmonic Chamber Players and the Sooke Philharmonic Chorus in this year’s Christmas concert, Season’s Splendour, at the Sooke Baptist Church, Saturday November 30, at 7:30 p.m. The concert will be repeated Sunday afternoon, December 1, in Metchosin, at the New St. Mary’s Church, at 2:30 p.m.
Nancy Washeim has been performing with the Sooke orchestra for years, and it is always a delight to hear her beautiful voice.
In a departure from previous Christmas concerts, the concert will feature Washeim in Schubert rather than Handel: the Magnificat, D. 486 and the Salve Regina, D.676.
This is what Maestro Nelson has to say: “Glorious Schubert! His Magnificat for Chorus and Orchestra is stimulating and uplifting, and in the Salve Regina, sung by Nancy Washeim, he gives us some of the most intimate and haunting music we could wish for.”
Also on the program is a Christmas cantata, the enjoyable The Newborn Babe, for chorus and orchestra, by Buxtehude, a comparatively little-known composer from the 17th Century.
Rutter’s delightful seasonal tale, Brother Heinrich’s Christmas, had its Sooke premiere last year. Orchestra cellist Paul Terry will again provide the richly imaginative narration, about a Fourteenth-century Dominican abbot who hears a carol sung by a band of angels and is helped by his donkey when he tries to write it down.
“We have had countless requests for a repeat performance and are delighted to present it again,” says Nelson.
Finally, the orchestra proudly presents the star string students from Journey Middle School, who will join us for the Christmas carol sing-along.
“Give yourself — and your friends — the true and lasting gift of live music, played by your very own orchestra and chorus,” says Nelson. “I am sure you will enjoy a memorable evening.”
The Sooke concert will be partnered with the Sooke Christmas Bureau, which means that a portion from each ticket sold will go toward their Christmas fundraising activities.
Tickets are $18 for adults, students and seniors are $15, youth $5. Family pack (maximum 2 adults & 4 youth) is a bargain at just $30.
To order tickets online, go to the Sooke Philharmonic website: www.sookephil.ca
Tickets are also available in Sooke at the Little Vienna Bakery, Shoppers Drug Mart, South Shore Gallery, and Wood Travel and Cruise.
In Victoria, at Ivy’s Bookshop and Long & McQuade; in Metchosin, at the Metchosin Country Store; in Westshore, at Tom Lee Music.
