A Weekend of Holiday Music in Watertown

Christmas is coming and if your inner-Santa has not yet risen to the surface, a holiday concert might put you in a more festive mood. Over the next few days, two performances are coming to Watertown.

On Saturday, the folk group Nowell Sing We Clear will play at St. John’s United Methodist Church, and on Monday night, the renowned choral group Chorus pro Musica will perform at the Perkins School for the Blind.

Nowell Sing We Clear, a four-member group led by John Roberts and Tony Barrand, has been performing Christmas concerts for 37 years. The concert, presented by The Folk Song Society of Greater Boston (FSSGB), should appeal to both children and adults.

“[There are] wonderful choruses for the audience to sing, a mummers play, with a life-and-death resurrection theme incorporating current political humor,” says Barrand. “[There are] many tales explaining the origins of the carols and ballads relating to the well-known Christmas story and the songs attached to the customs  — such as  feasting, gift-giving, and New Year — of the midwinter season.”

While much of the singing is unaccompanied, the show is also stamped with the energetic dance band sound of fiddle, button accordion, electric piano, drums, and concertina.

“The audience will be supplied with song sheets and encouraged to sing along, though after more than three decades of touring in New England, a whole generation of young people have grown up with these songs and carols and sing along as much as they can,” says Lori Fassman, the secretary/clerk of the FSSGB.

The concert takes place on Saturday night at St. John’s United Methodist Church. Tickets are $18-$22, and children under 17 are free. For more information, click .

For a different concert experience, the community is invited to come hear Chorus pro Musica at the Perkins School for the Blind. Considered to be one of the great choruses of New England, the chorus consists of more than 80 talented musicians selected by audition. The chorus will perform festive, seasonal classics.

“I can tell you that this is an event that the singers look forward to every year,” says Chorus pro Musica manager Jean Player.

The relationship between Chorus pro Musica and Perkins dates back at least 26 years, says Arnie Harris, musical director at Perkins. Along with their regular monthly concert series for the students, Harris says, “December reconnects us with this highly talented chorus.”

Over the years, the audience has consisted mainly of students, staff, and friends and families of the performers, but Harris says members of the general public are always welcome.

Along with seasonal favorites, the concert will include a work that Harris arranged, and Chorus pro Musica will sing with members of the Perkins School chorus.

The concert, which lasts about a half hour, takes place Monday night at 7 p.m. in Dwight Hall. Admission is free, and all ages are welcome. For more information, click