Community choruses celebrate traditions old and new at Dec. 4 concert

Hudson Community Choruses, comprised of children, youth and adult groups, will sing in the season on Sunday, Dec. 4, at 4 p.m., at Christ Church Episcopal, 21 Aurora St.

In the annual holiday concert, all three choruses will sing classical works from Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten and Felix Mendelssohn and contemporary pieces from Pinkzebra and Cecilia McDowall. Emily Laurance, harpist, and Darrell Zhang, cellist, will accompany the choruses.

The adult chorus, in its 34th season, will open the concert with Vaughan Williams’ stirring “Fantasia on Christmas Carols.” HCC Artistic Director Nathaniel Duvuvuei will move from the director’s podium to the soloist spotlight for this selection. In his 11th season as director, Duvuvuei has performed with several vocal groups including the Cleveland Chamber Choir. Founding Children’s and Youth Choruses Director, Eve Sliwinski, will direct the chorus, with accompanist Mario Buchanan and cellist Darrell Zhang.

The adult chorus also will introduce Cecilia McDowall’s modern hymn, “There is No Rose.” This piece was commissioned by and performed in 2021 by Kings College for its annual performance and international broadcast of the Festival of Lessons and Carols. King’s College’s Director of Music Daniel Hyde asked McDowall to write something that would bring “a moment of stillness” in the annual Christmas Eve service, giving her freedom to choose her own text.

The Hudson Community Youth and Children’s Choruses, directed by Assistant Artistic Director Mario Buchanan, will sing Britten’s “New Year Carol,” “Stars Are for Those Who Lift Their Eyes, and selections from Britten’s “Ceremony of Carols” accompanied by harp.

All three choruses will join for Pinkzebra’s “Winter Dreams.” 

The concert will also include Britten’s “Hymn to the Virgin,” Mark Miller’s setting of “O Magnum Mysterium,” Mendelssohn’s “There Shall a Star Come Out of Jacob,” “The Chanukah Song (We Are Lights)” and Randall Bass’ rousing “Gloria.”  

Tickets are now available online at hudsonsings.org. Presale tickets are $15, or $20 at the door. Student tickets are $5. Audience members are invited to join the chorus for a reception to follow in the Fellowship Hall. ∞