in concert
Light up the holidays with Wishes & Candles
Festive music will ring out along the
coast this weekend, as the Central Coast
Chorale presents its annual Wishes &
Candles Holiday Concerts in Yachats,
Lincoln City and Newport.
Under the direction of Dr. Mary Lee
Scoville, the 40-voice choir will celebrate
the winter season with a selection of holiday
music at 7 pm, on Friday, Dec. 13, at the
Yachats Commons. The concert will be
repeated at 2 pm on Saturday, Dec. 14, at
the Lincoln City Cultural Center and again
at 3 pm on Sunday, Dec. 15, at the First
Presbyterian Church of Newport.
At each concert, the chorale will sing an
eclectic mix of tunes of the season. There
will be traditional carols from Ireland
and England such as Dale Warland’s
arrangement of the “Wexford Carol” and
Steven Strite’s innovative version of “Angels
We Have Heard on High.” Kirby Shaw’s
jazzy take on “Carol of the Bells” and
the very traditional “Psallite” by Michael
Praetorius both feature intricate rhythms
and interplay between the choral parts.
The chorus will honor the Jewish
holidays with “Chanukah Prayer” by David
Lantz, as well as celebrating the birth of
Christ through Italian folk lullaby, “Dormi,
Dormi, O Bel Bambin,” arranged by Robert
DeCormier and “Birthday Carol” by David
Willcocks.
The lineup will include two pieces
inspired by poetry appropriate to the
season. “The Moon is Distant from the Sea”
features lyrics drawn from Emily Dickinson,
a beautiful meditation on the relationship
between moon and tide as a metaphor
for the poet’s feeling for the divine. And
“Northern Lights”by popular contemporary
composer Ola Gjielo draws its inspiration
from the poetry of the “Song of Solomon.”
“Most of all, this piece and its text is
about beauty,” Gjielo said, “about a ‘terrible,’
powerful beauty although the music is quite
serene on the surface.”
The Central Coast Chorale’s small
women’s group, Women of Note, will again
step out from the group to perform, singing
two movements from “A Ceremony of
Carols,” an 11-movement work composed
in 1942 by Benjamin Britten. The composer
wrote this work during a month-long
transatlantic crossing, returning to Britain
after three years in New York during World
War II. The text of this vocal work is from
“The English Galaxy of Shorter Poems”
which Britten purchased in Halifax, Nova
Scotia, while his ship was docked during the
voyage home.
The Chorale will also present a mixed
octet singing “The Christmas Can
Can,” performed in the a cappella style
popularized by such groups as Straight No
Chaser, who wrote and arranged this song.
This fun and technically challenging piece
comically portrays the phenomenon of the
holiday season arriving earlier and earlier
every year. The song also pays homage to
Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, describing the
commercial imbalance of their celebrations
in comparison to Christmas. The piece
includes a fast changing medley of
Christmas carols, Offenbach’s “Can Can”
tune and even “Hava Nagila.”
All three concerts have a suggested
donation of $10 per person or $20 per
family for admission.
For more information, go to
centralcoastchorale.com or email admin@
centralcoastchorale.com.
on Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30
pm in the choir room at Tillamook High
School. The next concert season will begin
in early 2020.
For more information, contact Mary at
503-812-1830.
Chorus this one off the list
The Tillamook Community Chorus
will merrily ring in the holiday season with
“Sing We Now of Christmas,” this Saturday,
Dec. 14.
The concert will see the four-part chorus
and soloists perform a compilation of
traditional and multi-cultural Christmas
vocal works. Guests will hear some familiar
favorites like “The First Noel” and “O
Come, O Come Emmanuel.” Tillamook
High School and Junior High School
Choir Director Andrew Bergh will direct
the concert, which will feature piano
accompaniment from Barbara Richmond.
Saturday’s concert will start at 3 pm, at
Tillamook United Methodist Church, 3808
12th Street. Admission is free, but there
is a suggested donation of $5 donation
per person. Refreshments will be served at
intermission and there will be a raffle of gift
baskets. Guests who make a $5 admission
donation will receive one complimentary
raffle ticket.
Tillamook Community Chorus sang its
first concert in 1981. Members of the group
come from all parts of the county and some
have been singing together for many years.
It’s a diverse community of music lovers
who gather weekly to join their voices in
celebration. Singers of all ages and skill
levels are invited and encouraged to join;
there are no auditions. The chorus rehearses
14 • oregoncoastTODAY.com • facebook.com/oregoncoasttoday • December 13, 2019