Summer is flying by, while ECAS searches for a new director to replace Wes Lockfaw. In the meantime, the ECAS music committee has chosen the program for December’s “Christmas Around the World” concert. Rehearsals will begin on Tuesdays from 7 to 9 p.m., starting August 23, 2022 at Christ Church in Easton. However, ECAS is not a church choir.
Three experienced choral directors from among the singers will manage sectional and group rehearsals until a new director is in place. Since August is early to start rehearsals, new members will be welcomed through September 13.
The first two rehearsals will be “open” meaning anyone interested in trying the chorus out may attend – either to observe or to sing along. Music will be provided. Email ECASterri@eastonchoralarts.com for more information or to reserve a packet of music to sing along to. Participants will also receive a list of the songs with listening links and YouTube links.
The program includes long-time favorites like “We Need a Little Christmas” and “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” and a choral telling of “The Night Before Christmas” poem by Clement Moore, complete with illustrations on two large TV screens.
A portion of the concert will remind guests that Christmas is celebrated in many places and in many languages around the world. The program includes one of the earliest arrangements of “Stille Nacht” (Silent Night), an Austrian carol that turned from obscurity to a major classic, along with a traditional carol from Catalonia in Spain, “Fum, Fum, Fum.” Also, to be enjoyed is “Twas in the Moon of Wintertime” one of the oldest Canadian Christmas Carols, circa 1642, which tells the Christmas story through the eyes of the indigenous Huron people. “Brightest and Best” from the American Shaker style will feature a lively fiddle solo. The choristers will close the program with “Christmas Day,” the rousing medley of Christmas songs by Gustav Holst. And that’s just to name a few!
Easton Choral Arts also sponsors a Choral Scholar program for talented student singers to sing with the group and receive a stipend to help with music lessons or other expenses. Students are chosen for the Choral Scholar Program by audition. Visit the website eastonchoralarts.org for more information or follow ECAS on Facebook. Interested persons can also sign up on the website for a monthly newsletter.
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Easton Choral Arts Society, Inc. is a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization funded in part by the Maryland State Arts Council, the Talbot County Arts Council, and the Mid-Shore Community Foundation.