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An additional special family matinee concert will be held on Saturday, December 15 at 2pm at Arlington Street Church. These concerts are supported in part by corporate sponsors Bank of America, Southwest Airlines, Hyatt, M. Steinert and Sons, Stop & Shop, and Yale Appliance.
According to music director Reuben Reynolds, “The world situation called out for a program that reaffirmed our shared values for peace during this season of light. So we’ve designed a program that celebrates many holiday traditions and takes us from France to Spain, Finland, Bosnia, Israel, Nigeria and back to the U.S. Through our singing, we hope to inspire the true values of the holiday season.”
Traditional Christmas music on the concert includes Gustav Holst’s “Christmas Day,” Hymn to the Nativity” by David Conte for chorus and soprano, “Twelve Days of Christmas” “Silent Night,” and a Conrad Susa arrangement of the Catalonian carol “Fum, Fum, Fum.” World music traditions include “Ose Shalom” (“The One Who Makes Peace) by John Leavitt, a Finnish folk song “Water Under Snow is Weary” by Harri Wessman and Babatunde Olatunji’s “Betelehemu,” sung in the West African Yoruba dialect. Kurt Bestor’s “Prayer of the Children” is a song of peace from Bosnia, written during that country’s civil war.
The finale of the show highlights Christmas songs written for Broadway shows including “Hard Candy Christmas” from Best Little Whorehouse and the irrepressible 60s dance number “Turkey Lurkey Time” from Promises, Promises, plus a soul-infused medley of Christmas songs by resident arranger Chad Weirick.
Celebrating its 26th anniversary season, the 150 member Boston Gay Men’s Chorus is noted for its outstanding musicianship, creative programming and groundbreaking community outreach. Under the leadership of Music Director Reuben M. Reynolds III, the BGMC sings a wide spectrum of classical and popular music with excellence and provides a positive and affirming image of the gay and lesbian community. Regularly listed on the Boston Business Journal’s Top 25 list of Boston’s largest performing arts organizations, the Chorus performs for more than 10,000 people annually.
The BGMC has appeared throughout New England and coast to coast and has 9 CDs in its growing discography. In June, 2005, the BGMC toured central Europe presenting concerts in Berlin, Prague, and Wroclaw, Poland, where it was the first gay organization to ever perform in that country. The Chorus was the subject of a half hour documentary on the public television series The Visionaries, which aired on PBS stations nationwide during 2003-04. BGMC is supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency and by the Boston Cultural Council, a local agency which is funded by the MCC, administrated by the Mayor’s Office of Arts, Tourism and Special Events. -- www.bgmc.org
Posted December 7th, 2007 by ruzik_tuzik
