PARK RIDGE, IL, November 14, 2016 –Northwest Choral Society (“NWCS”) invites one and all to “Come Celebrate!” with music and song in the spirit of the holiday season on Sunday, December 4, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. at St. Raymond de Penafort Church in Mt. Prospect.
The annual holiday concert will feature two compositions from Joseph M. Martin, Festival of Carols, a joyful celebration of over twenty songs of the season in new and interesting arrangements, and Celebration of Light, a festive Hanukkah original. Also on the program is one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s most beloved Advent cantatas, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (BWV 62 in the catalogue of over 1000 Bach compositions).
Other selections on the December 4 program include Baroque Christmas Festival, arranged by Audrey Snyder, Amid the Cold of Winter, arranged by Bret Rhoades, and Ruth Elaine Schram’s By Candlelight.
NWCS is under the direction of artistic director Alan Wellman. The fourteen member Northwest Chorus Chamber Orchestra will accompany the chorus.
Joseph M. Martin is Director of Sacred Publications for Shawnee Press. Recognized for his many choral arrangements, both sacred and secular, Mr. Martin has published over two thousand compositions. His music can be heard in such diverse locations as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York City, Constitution Hall in Washington DC, the Lawrence Welk Theatre in Branson, Missouri, St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City and during worship services in churches across the United States and Canada. Joseph Martin earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance at Furman University and a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance at the University of Texas.
The cantata Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (“Now come, Savior of the gentiles”) is based on Martin Luther’s chorale in eight stanzas, the number one hymn which begins the Liturgical year in all Lutheran hymnals. Bach wrote the cantata in 1724 for the First Sunday of Advent. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Romans (Romans 13:11–14) and from the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 21:1–9).
A complimentary preconcert lecture and discussion of the concert music will be hosted by NWCS member Kelsey Green 45 minutes prior to the concert.
Tickets for the “Come Celebrate!” concert are $25 for adults and $20 for students and seniors and may be obtained online at www.nwchoralsociety.org, by calling 224 / 585-9127 or an hour prior to the concert at St. Raymond de Penafort Church, corner of Elmhurst Avenue and Lincoln Street in Mt. Prospect.
NWCS’s golden anniversary commercial CD, And on Earth . . .Peace, includes several of the choral pieces performed at the December 2015 and 2014 concerts, accompanied by the Chicago Gargoyle Brass, and will be for sale at the December 4 event.
The NWCS 2016-17 season includes two more concert performances. “Hymns of Praise” will be held on April 4, 2017 at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Des Plaines, and “Celebrate the ‘70’s” will be on June 3, 2017 at All Saints Lutheran Church in Palatine.
Lipke-Kentex-Hesse / Dionne Supply of Chicago is providing much appreciated sponsorship financial support for the Northwest Choral Society’s 2016-17 concert season.
Founded in 1965, the Northwest Choral Society is a non-profit organization that promotes and encourages the appreciation, understanding and performance of a wide variety of outstanding choral literature. Its adult membership resides in the greater Chicago area.
The Northwest Choral Society invites experienced singers to audition to join the organization. Basses, tenors, altos and sopranos with previous choral experience and 17 years of age can obtain additional information about the Northwest Choral Society at www.nwchoralsociety.org.