Colleges celebrate season with holiday concerts at Saint John's

11/06/2008

The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University will present the traditional “Christmas at Saint John’s” concerts at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, and 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, in the Great Hall on the Saint John’s campus.

Ticket prices for the concert are $12 for adults and $8 for seniors and children 12 and under. Tickets are available online at www.csbsju.edu/finearts/ or through the CSB/SJU fine arts ticket office at 320-363-3577. Because this event has historically sold out, purchasing advance tickets is strongly encouraged.

The Amadeus Chamber Symphony, CSB/SJU Brass Choir, CSB Campus Singers, CSB/SJU Chamber Choir, St. John’s Boys’ Choir, and SJU Men’s Chorus will be under the direction of conductors André Heywood, Teri Larson, Axel Theimer and Dale White. The ensembles, individually and in various combinations, will present compositions written in celebration of the season of Advent and Christmas.

This year’s program features music by W.A. Mozart (Te Deum), George F. Handel, Arvo Pärt (Magnificat), Francis Poulenc, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Biebl (Ave Maria), Heinrich Schütz (Psalm # 8 for 3 Brass Choirs) and many more, plus the annual singing of favorite and traditional Christmas carols.

An added highlight will be the world premiere of Donald Krubsack’s The Unfolding: A Ruah Prayer, text by Michael Dennis Browne. The work, commissioned by Larson for the Campus Singers, is for women’s voices, flute and harp.  

Throughout the concert, the audience will again be invited to join in singing a number of favorite Christmas carols such as “O Come All Ye Faithful”, “Stille Nacht”, “Lo, How A Rose”, and others.  Other treasured favorites will include “Personent Hodie”, “Glory of the Father” and Handel’s “Alleluia Chorus”.