The Choral Arts Society of Frederick is bringing a little song to the holidays with its 80th season homecoming concert, “Hometown Holidays.”
The concert is 7:30 p.m. Dec 8 at Frederick Community College’s Jack B. Kussmaul Theater. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and military and free for ages younger than 12, FCC faculty, staff and students.
The oldest community choir in Frederick will be performing a variety of songs chosen by Choral Arts Society of Frederick Artistic Director and FCC faculty member Lynn Staininger, and accompanied on piano by fellow FCC faculty member John Wickelgren.
Returning from a musical ambassadorship in Normandy, France, for the 79th Year Commemoration of D-Day, as the sole representative of the United States, the choir performed songs in remembrance of the soldiers who died in D-Day.
Staininger said they are excited to kick off their return and the holiday season with this celebration for their Frederick hometown crowd. The theme for the performance this year, Staininger said, “has a lot to do with just appreciating our home, our hometown, and celebrating the season.”
The musical variety within the choir’s selection is an important aspect of the choir’s work because, as Staininger explained, it’s important for students to have experience in various choral repertoires and to provide an interesting selection for the audience. She tries to pick pieces that are relatable to the audience members, choosing songs ranging from serious and heartwarming to comic and entertaining, some familiar and some that have just been written.
According to Staininger, the musical selections cover a wide variety of choral music. Among others, they will perform the traditional Christmas carol “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and the winter song “A Season of Light” and a comedic song called “The Holiday Tango.” The English carol “Deck the Halls” will also feature a duet accompaniment from Wickelgren and FCC music student Kristen Thurman.
Staininger is excited about the arrangement of “Deck the Halls,” noting that with two people on piano “it’s super fun, exciting, and uplifting.”
And after a stressful semester, the lesser-known “The Holiday Tango” was included because “it’s just kind of fun sometimes to have a little bit of humor,” she said.
Tickets can be purchased at https://casof.org/tickets.
