“A Winter’s Eve” is the theme of the Eastern Shore Wind Ensemble’s 2018 holiday concert. Music Director Charles Thai will conduct this free band concert, beginning at 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 16, at Emmanuel Episcopal Church at Cross and High streets, Chestertown. The church is handicapped-accessible, via the ramp and automatic doors on the courthouse-green side of the building. All are invited for refreshments in the church hall after the concert.
The concert opens with “Winterwinds” by Larry Neeck, a celebration of the power and majesty of this time of year.
The program continues with several traditional settings of carols: “On A Cold Winter’s Night (The First Noel and Away in a Manger),” “Joyeux Noel! (Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella, He Is Born, The Divine Child, What Is This Star? and Ding Dong! Merrily on High),” “Christmas Fantasia (O Come All Ye Faithful, Jingle Bells, Up on the Housetop, and Joy to the World),” and “O Holy Night.”
“A Hanukkah Festival” features music for the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights, which this year began December 3.
Several traditional carols are given new interpretations: “African Holy Night” features percussive African rhythms, and “Fantasia on Silent Night” and “The Holly And The Ivy” are jazz renderings of Christmas classics. The concert concludes with a hip, swing version of Mariah Carey’s up-tempo Christmas love song “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
The Eastern Shore Wind Ensemble is an all-ages community concert band. It was formed in 2001 to offer area wind and percussion musicians the opportunity to continue or return to the pleasures of playing quality music in a large ensemble. New members are always welcome, without audition or fee.
Rehearsals for the next concert, on March 17, will begin on Monday, January 7. They start promptly at 7:00 p.m. and run until 8:30 in the Washington College band room in Gibson Center for the Arts.
For more information, call 410-778-2829, email to [email protected], or go to facebook.com/EasternShoreWindEnsemble. The ensemble is partially supported by a grant from the Kent County Arts Council.
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