Celebration: Music for Chanukah and Christmas

At concerts on December 1 & 2, the Vashon Island Chorale under the direction of Gary D. Cannon, will commemorate the great religious celebrations of Chanukah and Christmas. One half of the program will present the world premiere of "Eight Days of Chanukah" by Northwest composer Abraham Kaplan. Kaplan was one of the last half-century’s most notable choral conductors, having worked closely with Leonard Bernstein, Igor Stravinsky, and many other major musical personalities. Vashon Opera’s Andy Krikawa will sing a baritone solo in one of the movements of Kaplan’s work.
The second half of the concert features several favorite Christmas carols, including Zoltan Kodály’s chant-inspired arrangement of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel", popular versions of "Still, still, still" and "Carol of the Bells", and John Rutter’s raucous take on "The Twelve Days of Christmas". Violinists Karin Choo and Gaye Detzer will accompany the Chorale in Edward Elgar’s "The Snow". Linda Lee will play piano.
The Chorale will perform at Bethel Church with Saturday night’s concert beginning at 7:30 pm and Sunday’s at 3 pm.
Tickets ($15/general, $10 senior/student) can be purchased at the Blue Heron, the Vashon Book Shop and from www.brownpapertickets.com. For additional information, see
www.vashonislandchorale.com