Choral Society: Annual WinterSing This Weekend

11 Dec Choral Society: Annual WinterSing This Weekend

Key members of Telluride Choral Society

No holiday is more closely associated with music than Christmas, whose evolution as a cultural phenomenon is reflected in those sounds.

As Christmas became more secular, spiritual songs were largely supplanted by chestnuts such as Rudolph, sleigh bells ring (are you listening?). And if you scan that list, guess who wrote the biggest hits? Answer: ironically, Jewish composers such as Irving Berlin (“White Christmas”) Mel Torme (“The Christmas Song”) and Felix Bernard (“Winter Wonderland’), etc. While it may be frustrating for the faithful, who feel the true meaning of the holiday has been preempted by commercialism, fact is we live in multicultural times, when the blending and mixing of traditions is inevitable – and that could be a good thing. Scratch the surface, bag the canned rhetoric, and perhaps we find Christians, Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Buddhists all over the world are more alike than different. In the spirit of coming together, American Christmas celebrations now appear to belong to everyone.

It is in that spirit that we look forward to the Telluride Choral Society‘s annual WinterSing.

This year’s theme, per Choral Society director extraordinaire Rhonda Muckerman, is “The Spirit of the Season.” The concert features holiday music from around the world, including “Bring a Torch,” Jeanette Isabella (France); “Hine Ma Tov “(Israel); “Wana Baraka” (Africa); “Dormi, Dormi” (Italy); as well as an original composition by Telluride’s Dalen Stevens.

The music will be performed by 60 locals from the Choral Society’s bud groups: Chorale, Chamber Singers, Choristers, Training Choir, Jewel Tones, and Renaissance Singers.

WinterSing takes place Friday, December 13, 7 p.m. and Sunday, December 15, 5 p.m, at Telluride’s Christ Church.

Tickets, ($15 for adults; $8 for kids) are available at the door.