Love and Peace this Christmas - Celebrating over 50 years of choral a cappella music

The Vermont Choral Union celebrates over 50 years of choral a cappella music with two holiday concerts.
Saturday, December 7, 2019, at 7:30 pm - First Congregational Church of St. Albans, St. Albans, VT
Sunday, December 8, 2019, at 3:00 pm - Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Burlington, VT

The Vermont Choral Union, under the direction of interim music director Steven Klimowski, is pleased to present its annual holiday concert program on December 7 and 8, 2019. Founded in 1967, the Vermont Choral Union draws inspiration from many centuries of classical a cappella music. Sharing a passion for artistic achievement, the ensemble explores timeless works of the past, along with today's newest compositions. Through a diverse and varied concert program, the singers strive to delight audiences with programs that portray the rich history of this genre of choral music.

The ensemble of community-based singers will perform a program of inspirational and largely contemporary classical seasonal and holiday pieces. Interim music director Steve Klimowski's vision for the concert program centers on the love and peace of the season. He shares, "The first half of the program highlights music about people's love for each other (love thy neighbor) while the second half focuses on the Christmas story. We end the concert with an assurance of peace." These themes are musically expressed and effectively captured in this program with some familiar sacred and secular text settings, including the poetry of Sara Teasdale and Howard Thurman set by composers of the early Renaissance, Baroque, and Romantic periods, as well as contemporary composers Pavel Chesnokov, John Joubert, Arvo Pärt, Dan Forrest, Ola Gjeilo, Ēriks Ešenvalds, and Martin Åsander.

The concerts will take place on Saturday, December 7th at 7:30 pm at the First Congregational Church of St. Albans in St. Albans, Vermont (presented by the 11th Annual St. Albans Festival of Trees) and Sunday, December 8th at 3:00 pm at St. Paul's Cathedral in downtown Burlington, Vermont (presented by Cathedral Arts).