Holiday sounds to ring throughout the area
11/22/2012Bowling Green State University will present New York Polyphony, a male vocal quartet, in its next Festival Series concert at 8 p.m. Nov. 30 in Kobacker Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center.
Countertenor Geoffrey Williams, tenor Steven Caldicott Wilson, baritone Christopher Dylan Herbert, and bass Craig Phillips have won high praise around the world for their sensitive harmonies and interpretations of old and new works.
For its BGSU appearance, the group will bring its Christmas program, "I Sing the Birth," drawn from its 2007 debut CD. The program includes a blend of early music, sacred music, and more contemporary versions of holiday sounds. Tickets are $12-$38 at 419-372-8171 or the Moore box office.
Other BGSU musical events will include a Music at the Forefront performance by Ken Thompson and Slow/Fast at 8 p.m. Monday at the Clazel Theatre, Main Street, Bowling Green.
The Faculty Artist Series will present vocalists Sean Cooper and Jennifer Goode Cooper at 8 p.m. Wednesday in Bryan Recital Hall. Both events are free.
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Masterworks Chorale, the chamber choir celebrating its 40th year, will perform the first concert of a busy season at 8 p.m. Dec. 1 and 4 p.m. Dec. 2 in Epworth United Methodist Church, 3077 Valleyview Dr. This year's program returns to the traditional lessons and carols format, with musical works sung to highlight texts of the Christmas story.
The choir, led by Donna Tozer Wipfli, includes secular as well as sacred works in its lineup.
This year's program will include music by Benjamin Britten, Handel, Holst, and Praetorius along with a song by Dolly Parton, "Light of a Clear Blue Morning."
Because Tozer Wipfli is performing in the Ottawa Hills High School production of Sound of Music, with her daughter, the conducting duties will be taken on by Timothy Cloeter, assistant professor of choral activities at BGSU.
Tickets for the concerts are $20-$25 in advance at 419-242-2787 or at the door.
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A more traditional version of lessons and carols is planned by the Cathedral Choir, conducted by Paul Monachino, at 3 p.m. Dec. 2 in Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, 2535 Collingwood Blvd. Admission is free.
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The Toledo Symphony will begin its holiday concert season Friday with a 7 p.m. performance at St. James Armory, 3319 Nebraska Ave. Joining the symphony will be the dance team Positive Force. Resident conductor Jeffrey Pollock will lead this concert and all the rest of the performances through December. The event is free.
The musical ride will continue with a 7 p.m. Sunday concert presented by Messiah Lutheran Church at St. John's Church, 5153 Summit St., Point Place. Pollock will lead a program of Christmas music and carols. Soloists will be Sandra Clark, horn, and Lauraine Carpenter, trumpet.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the parish office following mass or at the door.
The symphony's next concert will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Oak Harbor High School, 11661 State Rt. 163 in Oak Harbor. The event will be a real community affair.
Woodmore and Oak Harbor high schools choir members will sing a version of the "Twelve Days of Christmas," plus portions of Handel's Messiah. Some OHHS band students will join the symphony musicians in a side-by-side performance. Alumna Kia Frank, soprano, will return to her alma mater to sing with the orchestra. The concert is sold out. To be placed on a waiting list for tickets, call Russ Raber at the high school, 419-898-6216 ext. 334.
The symphony also will present a 7:30 p.m. concert on Nov. 29 at Grace Lutheran Church, 705 W. State St., Fremont. Tuba player David Saltzmann will be soloist with the orchestra for a special arrangement of "The Wassail Song."
At 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at Clyde High School, 1015 Race St., Pollock will lead a selection of traditional and contemporary holiday music. Saltzmann will solo. So will Clyde area singers Lindsay Sharrer and Chad Atkinson. Information: 419-332-1558.
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Owens Community College wraps up a fall season of performances with two more concerts next week. On Monday, percussion will be in the spotlight at 1:30 p.m. in the Studio Theatre of the Center for Fine and Performing Arts. The performance also will demonstrate how to move studio software into a performance setting. Leading the show will be Michael Sander, of Owens, and Rob Ticherich, from Cuyahoga Community College.
The Owens Choir will perform at 7 p.m. Nov. 30 in the Mainstage Theatre. Part of the free program will focus on the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan; holiday music also is planned.
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The annual performance of G.F. Handel's oratorio Messiah by the Toledo Symphony with the Toledo Choral Society and the BGSU Choral Union is set for 8 p.m. Dec. 1 and 2 p.m. Dec. 2 in the Peristyle of the Toledo Museum of Art. Mark Munson will conduct, with soloists Denise Bernardini, soprano; Julia Mintzer, mezzo; Shawn Mathey, tenor, and Jeff Wisniewski, bass. Tickets are $25-$30 at 419-246-8000 or www.toledosymphony.com.
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The University of Toledo will herald the holidays with a Festival of Choirs event at 3 p.m. Dec. 2 in Doermann Theater of University Hall.
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A Renaissance-style Yuletide Dinner with madrigals from that long-ago period is set for Dec. 13 and 14 at Trinity Episcopal Church, 316 Adams St. Students from the Toledo School for the Arts will sing and serve, under the direction of Jamie Dauel.
Buy a ticket and dress up as a lord or lady. Dinner is at 7 p.m. both nights with the concert to begin at 8 p.m. Dinner and the show are $20; listen to the concert only for $4-$6. Reservations are due by Dec. 3 at 419-246-8732, ext. 226.
Items for News of Music should be sent to svallongo@theblade.com at least two weeks ahead of the event.