Louisiana Choral Foundation offers double feature
Published 12:21 pm Wednesday, December 11, 2024
- A group of singers from the Masterworks Chorale rehearses “Journey Into Light” with a string ensemble. Louisiana Choral Foundation’s traditional Christmas concert will take place this Friday in Lake Charles and Sunday in Sulphur. (Thomas Sexton Logan / Special to the American Press)
By Mary Richardson | Special to the American Press
The annual concert of the Louisiana Choral Foundation, featuring the Masterworks Chorale combined with the children’s choir Les Petites Voix and the Bayou Bell Choir, will be held in two venues this weekend. The concerts will take place at 7 p.m. Friday at the First United Methodist Church, 812 Kirkman St., and at 3 p.m. on Sunday at the Immaculate Conception Church in Sulphur.
Selections will range from contemporary classical music by regional composers to a joyful selection of Christmas-themed Broadway tunes, aptly entitled “Christmas on Broadway.”
The concert will close with the traditional “O Holy Night,” which combines all three groups into an emotional performance. “For me, when I hear these wonderful musicians of all ages sing this lovely hymn together, the Christmas season truly begins,” says Artistic Director and Masterworks Chorale conductor Dr. Darryl Jones.
The major work at the concerts will be “Gloria” by Texas composer Randol Bass. “Gloria” was premiered in Carnegie Hall in 1990, and has become one of the most critically acclaimed new works for the holiday season. Bass has created dance-like, rhythmic sections of Latin texts, which he contrasts with passages of romantic lyricism.
“It has immediate appeal,” according to Jones. “We love to sing it and we hope the audience will love to hear it.”
“Journey Into Light, a collection of traditional carols arranged by Centenary College graduate Taylor Scott Davis, will be accompanied by a small instrumental ensemble.
Other selections will include “Introit for Christmas,” accompanied by the Bayou Bell Choir; “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” arranged by Parker/Shaw; “Light Everlasting” by Olaf Christiansen; and ‘Ding Dong, Merrily on High” arranged by Chester Alwes.
Les Petites Voix, directed by Kari Proksch, and the Bayou Bell Choir, directed by Bruce Allured, will each present seasonal selections.
Tickets are available at the door for $15, or with a season membership. Children and students in middle school through college are admitted free with school ID. For more information, visit www.lachoral.org or email to la2choral6@gmail.com
