Chamber Chorale of Fredericksburg to Present "Sounds of the Season" this Weekend
Group will perform two concerts at Fredericksburg Baptist Church on Saturday.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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One of the region’s top vocal ensembles will present its annual holiday concert this weekend.
“Sounds of the Season,” performed by the 36-member Chamber Chorale of Fredericksburg, offers audience members both an opportunity to get into the holiday spirit and support the group’s new student outreach initiative.
“Not only are [students] our future audience, but they’re our future members,” said director Joe Eveler, who’s also been the choral director at Stafford High School since 2003.
The Chorale, which was founded in 1989 as an ensemble dedicated to performing high-quality choral music for the cultural enrichment of the community, began its student outreach initiative in the spring.
“[The plan is to] invite a local high school choir to join us for the spring concert, to give them that experience of singing with an adult choir at this level,” Eveler said. “We had Massaponax High School’s Vocal Ensemble join us for the spring concert, and that was a really cool experience.”
The Chorale has also started providing free tickets to its concerts to local K-12 choir programs.
“We have a lot of choir directors who sing with us, so it’s very easy to say, ‘Here’s 10 free tickets, bring your students,’” Eveler said. “If we’re bringing in students, we’re also bringing in parents as audience members, so it’s a way for us to reach out to people we know are interested in what we’re doing and also help grow our audience and get ourselves out there.”
The winter concert is traditionally one of the Chorale’s most popular concerts, as it draws both people who are choral music enthusiasts and those who might not usually go to a choir concert but who love the music of the holidays, Eveler said.
“We try to mix up holiday favorites and some newer classical things that will challenge our audience and be exciting to the choir aficionados in the crowd,” he said.
“Sounds of the Season,” which will be presented on Saturday, December 14, at 3 and 7 p.m. at Fredericksburg Baptist Church, features John Rutter’s Magnificat—a 40-minute multi-movement work with a 15-piece orchestral accompaniment—as well as traditional carols, new settings of traditional carols, and holiday standards.
Importantly, the concert features Fredericksburg’s local talent.
“One of our pieces is a setting of the standard ‘What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?’ arranged by one of our choir members, Evan Keene,” Eveler said. “All the instrumentalists are local Fredericksburg players. The Rutter has some pretty major soprano solos throughout it and all are performed by members of the Chorale.”
“That’s kind of our—mission to make great music here in Fredericksburg,” he continued.
Audience members will also get a chance to perform at Saturday’s concert, during the carol sing-along.
Tickets to the concert, which are available at the door, are $20 for adults and $10 for students. Proceeds support the Chorale, which is a nonprofit organization, and its outreach initiatives.
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