Christmas without glorious choral music is like ... a local ski hill without snow! Fortunately it's snowing up at the hill and the 60-strong Nelson Choral Society is back with a concert to celebrate the season, Sing Allelulia!
This year the Choral Society is taking a slightly different, more inclusive, approach to its Christmas concert, says music director Kathleen Neudorf.
"I have always been asked if it would be possible to have a sing-along component to the concert.
"This is the year we are going to honour those requests and ask the audience to join in with us in singing a number of traditional carols."
Interjected between these carols, the choir will perform favourite selections from past years. The feature piece is the dramatic "African Mass" by American composer Norman Luboff.
This mass was warmly received at a sold-out performance in Nelson almost 10 years ago.
It uses repeated African rhythms and drumbeats to create a sense of motion and drama, and will feature Hungarian-born soprano Noémi Kiss.
Other concert selections include carols infused with traditional Puerto Rican, Spanish, Kenyan and Ugandan melodies; modern arrangements of traditional carols by Stephen Chatman, one of Canada's foremost living composers; sacred music from contemporary Latvian composer Rihards Dubra; and an American spiritual that bursts with Christmas joy of a different beat and energy.
On dark days, and in dark times, beautiful music is a blessing and a solace. Join us to celebrate the season, and seize this opportunity to sing your heart out accompanied by a 60-piece back-up choir.
There will be two concerts at the Capitol Theatre: Saturday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, December 11 at 2 p.m. Tickets, available at the Capitol Theatre box office, are $12 for adults, $6 for children 12 and under.
At intermission, the Nelson and Area Kaoma Alliance will sell Zambian-made, fair-trade baskets. Sales support impoverished families and help empower the people of Kaoma district.