Songs for Christmas, Hanukkah, and the Winter Solstice

Sunday, November 20, 2005 – 2pm
Bastyr University Chapel

Begin this holiday season by joining KCS in the beautiful and acoustically superb Bastyr University Chapel. Music from the winter traditions of Christmas, Hanukkah and Solstice celebrate the Light: the procession along paths lit by luminaria; menorah candles recalling the miracle of Temple oil; the brilliant fanfare of trumpets symbolically shattering darkness. This inspiring concert features four exquisite motets by French composer Francis Poulenc, and “Hymn to the Creator of Light,” by John Rutter. In celebration of the 85th birthday of jazz legend Dave Brubeck, KCS will be joined by the Pacifica Children’s Chorus and excellent area musicians for a performance of “La Fiesta de la Posada,” a vibrant Christmas Cantata. Selections from G. F. Handel’s “Judas Maccabeus,” two works by contemporary composer Michael Isaacson, and “Drey Dreydeleh” by Abe Ellstein and Moyshe Oysher, sung in Yiddish, reflect the Hanukkah story. The concert concludes with “Triumphant Light: Fanfare and Hymn for the Winter Solstice,” scored for trumpets, piano, percussion and chorus by local composer Donald Skirvin, who will attend the performance. “The glory of the Winter is the rebirth of the Light!” 

Mass in C minor
Other works
With Orchestra

Sunday, May 21, 2006 – 2:00pm
Kirkland Performance Center

A quarter millennium after his birth, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart remains one of the most famous and beloved composers of all time. Join Kirkland Choral Society for this special birthday tribute, featuring his great Mass in C Minor and other selected works. The Mass in C Minor is the most ambitious and elaborate of Mozart’s church works. Begun in the summer of 1782 and still unfinished at his death nine years later, the Mass reveals a mature and highly skilled composer, a supreme musician at the height of his craft. Come join KCS in this delightful celebration of the genius of Mozart ― and find out why the Kirkland Courier says, “We are honored to have a musical group of this caliber in our neighborhood.”