Choral Society to Present Holiday Concert on Dec. 12   The Rockbridge Choral Society, directed by William McCorkle, will present its annual holiday program at 8 p.m. Saturday, December 12, in the Lexington Presbyterian Church. Over the years, the Choral Society's December performance has become one of the community's best loved and most cherished traditions. As in previous years, the evening will begin with a community carol sing at 7:45 p.m. This year’s program includes Choral Society favorites from over the years as well as a number of pieces new to the repertoire. Works for all time will include Elizabeth Poston’s Jesus Christ the Apple Tree and John Rutter’s Blow, Thou Winter Wind, on a well-known text of William Shakespeare. The Jewish/Hanukah tradition will be represented by two works, Chanukah Lights and Psalm 33, of the noted American cantor/composer Gerald Cohen. Christmas compositions will include Richard Zgodava’s Out of the Orient Crystal Skies; Craig Phillips’ Morning Glory, Starlit Sky; the sublime Summer in Winter of Robert Roth; Benjamin Britten’s A Boy Was Born; and Healey Willan’s ebullient Hodie Christus Natus Est. Traditional or modern settings of carol texts include two new compositions by Randall Giles; Peter Wishart’s Alleluyah, A New Work Is Come on Hand; and Rutland Boughton’s ever-popular The Holly and the Ivy. Included in the program will be three works performed by the Rockbridge Chamber Singers: The Lamb, a haunting setting by John Tavener of William Blake’s poem; Benjamin Britten’s Jesu, as Thou Art My Saviour, for soprano and choir; and a masterpiece from Tudor England, Orlando Gibbons’This Is the Record of John, an exquisite setting of John 1:19-23 for countertenor and choir. Assisting the Choral Society will be pianist Joshua Harvey. Members of the ensemble featured as soloists will include soprano Christine Fairfield and countertenor Nate Pence. Tickets for the performance are $10 for adults and $4 for all students, and may be purchased at Books & Co., Maury River Senior Center, Hamilton-Robbins, and McCorkle’s Hallmark Shop. Advance purchase is recommended. The Rockbridge Choral Society is a member organization of Fine Arts In Rockbridge, which receives support from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, Rockbridge County, and the city of Lexington, and donations from area individuals, businesses and organizations. A special sponsor is Public Radio WMRA. Grants to FAIR by the Friends of the Rockbridge Choral Society provide major support for the Rockbridge Choral Society. For more information, call the FAIR office at 464-3247.

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