The Christmas Rose concert scheduled
COSHOCTON — The Christmas Rose is the theme of the Coshocton Community Choir’s Festival Christmas Concert at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8. More than 200 musicians from throughout central Ohio will weave together the Christmas Story at Coshocton High School’s McKinley Auditorium. Musical selections during the 90-minute concert span the centuries as the adult choir, the Children’s Choir and the Youth Chorale, all under the direction of Charles R. Snyder, perform a mix of sacred and secular choral music.
“Christmas songs and scripture abound with imagery of flowers blooming in the desert,” Snyder said. “Some songs see Jesus as the Christmas Rose; others speak of Mary as the flower that bore the Savior. As always, choosing a new theme each year allows us to see the Christmas story through a different lens. Once again, our artist friend Tom Kulewicz has beautifully captured that in the logo he’s designed for this concert.”
This year’s concert narration has been written by The Rev. Richard K. Hoover, retired pastor of Roscoe United Methodist Church.
“His love of music and his ability to capture and relate scriptural truth with poetic beauty make him a natural for this task,” Snyder said. “He also wrote the concert story for us in 2009. We are grateful that he agreed to tackle this task again.”
Snyder says the songs suggested by The Christmas Rose theme include the time-honored “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming”; composer friend Garry Cornell’s “One Perfect Flower”; the seasonal favorite, “Gesu Bambino” by Pietro Yon; and Z. Randall Stroope’s hauntingly beautiful piece for women’s voices with piano and oboe, “There Is No Rose,” based on an ancient Christmas text.
Other audience favorites will include Paul Christiansen’s setting of “O Holy Night,” a lovely setting of “Away in a Manger” sung by the children’s choir, the familiar “Carol of the Bells,” two contemporary Christmas spirituals, and the calypso carol “Mary’s Little Boy Chile,” made famous by singer Harry Belafonte. Members of the audience will join the choirs and instrumentalists in singing “We Three Kings of Orient.”
The concert features the 100-voice adult choir (now in its 43rd season), 42 singers in grades four through eight in the Coshocton Children’s Choir (now in its 27th season), 56 high school singers in the Coshocton Youth Chorale (in its 12th season), the Roscoe Brass Quintet, pianists Dickie Barrick and Mark Wagner, Deborah Jones on Oboe, and percussionist Jeff Myers.
“Those who come to one of our concerts for the first time – especially those from a metropolitan area – often share their pleasant surprise when they see and hear 200 musicians from our area unite to offer their gifts of music,” Snyder said. “Many of our regular concert attendees tell us that their Christmas celebration begins with this concert. We invite you to share the joy of the season with us on Dec. 8.“
Tickets for The Christmas Rose Festival Concert are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Tickets are available at the door or online at www.CoshoctonCommunityChoir.org. Tickets are also available at these presale tickets outlets: Liberty House in Roscoe Village; Good News Book Store, Buehlers Food Market, and Marilyn’s Natural Foods in Coshocton; Home Loan Savings Bank in West Lafayette and Baker’s Foods in Newcomerstown.
The concert is held at Coshocton High School’s McKinley Auditorium located at 1205 Cambridge Road. For information, contact the Coshocton Community Choir at 623-0554, www.CoshoctonCommunityChoir.org or find them on Facebook.
Category: Arts & Entertainment
