The Chamber Choir, College Choir and Camerata perform on Saturday as part of the annual Fredonia Holiday Choral Concert.
The annual Fredonia Holiday Choral Concert, a favorite for audiences and performers alike, returns for its fifth year.
The free concert takes place Saturday, Dec. 6, at 8 p.m., in King Concert Hall at SUNY Fredonia. The concert is open to the public and tickets are not required.
“Year after year, our students say that this is their favorite concert,” said Dr. Vernon Huff, who is director of Choral Activities and an associate professor of Choral Music Education. “They have been working since the beginning of October to prepare the music for this concert.”
The concert features the Chamber Choir and the College Choir under the direction of Dr. Huff and the Camerata under the direction of Lecturer Brent Weber. There will also be select student vocal soloists.
“This is the most collaborative concert we have,” Dr. Huff said. “The Choral and Sound Recording Technology faculty work with our marketing team, School of Music administration and staff, Rockefeller Arts Center staff, and BTPM [Buffalo Toronto Public Media] producers to create the best concert experience possible.”
This season’s concert features 15 works, including the Dan Forrest arrangement of the French carol “Angels We Have Heard on High,” which will be performed by the combined choirs.
The works range from traditional carols like “I Saw Three Ships” with the Chamber Choir and Associate Professor Barry Crawford on flute to pop favorites like Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” and Johnny Marks’ “Holly Jolly Christmas.”
“This concert has become a tradition for so many families in Western New York and is a way for the campus to ring in the holiday season.” - Dr. Vernon Huff
Paj Huson (Music Education, from Hamburg, NY) and Mia O’Malley (Music Education, from Peekskill, NY) will be the featured soloists for the traditional French carol “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” while Bridgete Cunningham (Music Therapy and Voice, from Mineola, NY) is the soloist for “Lux Arumuque” by Eric Whitacre. Both works will be sung by the Camerata.
Dominic Townsend (Music Performance, from Lewiston, NY) will be the soloist with the Chamber Choir for the Spanish carol “Riu, Riu, Chiu.” Soloists with the combined choirs will be Grace Riordon (Music Education, from Getzville, NY) and Mia Sorgi (Vocal Performance and Music Education, from Hamburg, NY) on William Dawson’s “Behold the Star,” and Brendan Mathewson (Music Education, from Webster, NY) on “Masters in This Hall,” a French carol arranged by Alice Parker and Robert Shaw.
Other highlights include the African carol “African Noel,” arranged by Victor Johnson, with the College Choir.
“The holiday choral tradition is centuries long,” Dr. Huff said. “We want to make sure that our audiences hear old favorites, as well as newer pieces that truly encapsulate the spirit of the season.”
Once again, the event will be recorded for broadcast on local PBS station WNED (BTPM) on Sunday, Dec. 21 at 2 p.m. and Monday, Dec. 22 at 9 p.m. The concert will also be shared with PBS North America and PBS+. The 2023 and 2024 Fredonia concerts are also available to view at pbs.org.
Presented in conjunction with the School of Music’s Sound Recording Technology program, the concert will also be live streamed and posted to the School of Music YouTube channel.
“This concert has become a tradition for so many families in Western New York and is a way for the campus to ring in the holiday season,” Dr. Huff said.
The Fredonia Holiday Choral Concert is made possible in part by the Kay Hardesty Logan Foundation of Arlington, VA, with funding administered through the Fredonia College Foundation.
