A CELEBRATION OF MUSIC
By Jennifer Hamm Minister of Music
Jennifer: jenniferh@vpc.church
Singing in a church choir is unlike any other experience. Members put in hours and hours of rehearsal time, diligently working towards the same goal – to perfect the music to the best of their ability, so that it is pleasing to our Lord. To then be able to present it to you is an extraordinary privilege. One that we hope will uplift and inspire worship through song. One of the most exciting parts of our ministry, and a great tradition at VPC, is the Chancel Choir's Christmas concert. We have been blessed over the years by the generosity of VPC’s Foundation (VPF), who provides funding for our concert programs, to hire talented musicians to accompany our choir. We're also blessed to have space in the Sanctuary to host our events where we can accommodate a full orchestra, a choir, and an audience of 500 or more. The challenge in previous years was the acoustics in the Sanctuary. That is why I am so excited that as a part of the Sanctuary remodel these sound issues will be solved at last; producing concerts will be so much easier and the sound even more magnificent! Unfortunately, renovations in our Sanctuary will not be completed in time for this year's Christmas concert. Thankfully, VPF continues to support us by covering 100% of the costs involved with hosting the event at the beautiful Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. If you have been in this venue before, you know how grand it is. If you have not, you are in for a treat! This is a wonderful opportunity for the Chancel Choir to sing in an amazing concert hall. It is a wonderful opportunity for outreach. And lastly, it is a wonderful opportunity for you to experience our magnificent choir and orchestra in such a beautiful facility. Make an evening out of it with dinner and a night on the town! This concert will feature a 55 voice choir, soloists, and a full orchestra with select Phoenix Symphony members performing both sacred and secular Christmas music. The first half of the concert will feature Robert Shaw’s The Many Moods of Christmas. This work is a setting of eighteen Christmas carols grouped into four suites. We chose three of those suites to perform, which include, Good Christian Men, Rejoice, Silent Night, Patapan, O Come, All Ye Faithful, O Sanctissima, Joy to the World, Away in a Manger, Fum Fum Fum, March of the Kings, What Child is This, Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, and Angels We Have Heard on High. Solos from our Valley Singers range from Comfort Ye/Every Valley from Handel’s Messiah to Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. All played by talented instrumentalists whom we are so fortunate to have. The second half will open with the beloved song, It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, and continue with a reading of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas with songs interspersed throughout. There will be a clever arrangement of Jingle Bells that explores different styles and variations. The concert will conclude with a most unique composition called A Musicological Journey Through the Twelve Days of Christmas, a hilarious parody on the famous song where each day is set to a different style of music. Composer Craig Courtney takes a traditional, very well-known song and makes a music history lesson out of it! The first day starts at the very beginning of western classical music tradition with Gregorian chant. Each day moves up through the ages; you will hear just about every style of western music represented. You'll chuckle a little bit at first and laugh out loud by the end.
Tickets: vpc.church/music 6
