Monadnock Chorus presents "Hope for the Holidays"

Description

Amid the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, Monadnock Chorus will add to the joy with concerts December 14th and 15th celebrating musical traditions from around the world. This selection of heart-warming holiday music features traditional English Christmas carols, as well as carols from Lithuania and Venezuela, Gospel music from the American tradition, a piece celebrating Asian Mahayana Buddhism, winter songs from Norway, a Chanukah celebration in the Jewish Tradition, a hymn from Russian Slavonic Vespers and an Old Scots secular folk song celebrating winter solstice. The program will also include Misa Criolla, a mass based on Argentine and Bolivian folk dances and tunes. Concerts will be Saturday, December 14th at 4 pm and Sunday, December 15th at 4 pm, in the Peterborough Town House. Tickets are $20 (students admitted free) and are available at Steele’s Stationers and Toadstool Bookshop in Peterborough, or through the Chorus website: www.monadnock-chorus.org. Monadnock Chorus Artistic Director Dr. Matthew Leese explained the basis for the program selections: “ 'Hope for the Holidays' is centered on our communal desire for peace and human kindness,” he said. “Around the world, people in many traditions and faiths join at this time of year to sing songs with a focus on heart, love, giving and compassion. As the days grow shorter, we too find ourselves turning inward, examining our core and our principles. This concert will celebrate the diverse ways people around the world use music to express these universal human desires,” Dr. Leese said. The centerpiece of the program, Misa Criolla, is a celebrated work by Argentine composer Ariel Ramirez. Written in 1964, the work was widely hailed as a stunning artistic achievement that combines Spanish text with indigenous instruments and rhythms. Monadnock Chorus’ presentation of the work will feature the brilliant Columbian tenor David Rivera-Bozón, as well as an orchestra of guitars, charango (an Andean instrument in the lute family) a full ensemble of percussion, double bass and piano. Rivera-Bozón, currently pursuing graduate studies at the New England Conservatory, is known for his exceptional, robust, vibrant and mesmerizing voice. With his captivating presence he has charmed audiences internationally. Contact: Laurie H. Lewis monadnockchorus@gmail.com 914.643.3340