Holiday Presence, Los Robles Master Chorale's second concert of the holiday season, will present the women and the men of the chorale separately, as well as together, in performances of both sacred and secular works celebrating this special time of year. The concert, under the direction of artistic director Lesley Leighton, will be Saturday, December 18 at 8 pm at Ascension Lutheran Church in Thousand Oaks.
"The concert format was inspired by what was for years the staple at Loyola Marymount University, my alma mater," explains Leighton. "The women will present a short program as a women's chorus, the men will present a short program as a men's chorus, and then they will combine for the second half of the evening as an SATB chorale." The women will open the program with music spanning nearly four hundred years, including Vaughan Williams's "Lullaby" from A Christmas Cantata, Lloyd Pfautsch's setting of the "Annunciation," and "Precious Child" by contemporary composer Rhonda Polay. The men will perform a range of pieces, from the Gregorian chant "Puer Natus Est" with an original motet arranged by Leighton, Franz Biebl's beloved setting of "Ave Maria," and "Daddy's Christmas Cowboy," a tongue-in-cheek western number from the 1950s.
The combined chorale will begin with "Prayer for Peace" by Abbie Betinis, a member of the Burt family, renowned purveyors of modern Christmas carols, and "Bright Morning Stars," an arrangement by Shawn Kirchner of a traditional Appalachian song. Vaughan Williams's classic "Fantasia on Christmas Carols" will anchor the second half of the evening, which will also feature Robert Hunter's arrangement of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and Leo Nestor's variation on "Silent Night." The chorus also will perform John Rutter's newly written piece, "A Dedication," which was jointly commissioned by Los Robles Master Chorale.
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All ticket holders are invited to attend a pre-concert conversation at 7 pm with Dr. Mary C. Breden, Director of Choral Activities at Loyola Marymount, as well as a post-concert reception with the artists.
Holiday Presence will be performed Saturday, December 18, at 8 pm, at Ascension Lutheran Church, 1600 E. Hillcrest Drive in Thousand Oaks. Advance tickets are $22, $20 senior/student, with group rates available. All tickets will be $25 the day of the concert. For additional information and to purchase tickets visit www.losroblesmasterchorale.org or call (805) 526-SING (7464) or (805) 990-3006.
