Nothing signifies the holidays better than the songs of the season. At 2:30 p.m., Dec. 8 in the University of Houston’s Moores Opera House, audiences can experience a free concert of classical music celebrating Christmas.
“Joy to ALL the World” will showcase the vocal ensembles of UH’s Moores School of Music including the award-winning Moores Concert Chorale, the University Women’s Chorus, the Concert Women’s Chorus, ManCorps, ManChoir and others.
“Our ‘Joy to ALL the World’ concert will be performed by our outstanding five large ensembles and six student-led student ensembles,” said Betsy Cook Weber, director of the Moores Concert Chorale. “The repertoire represents everything from a Renaissance motet for three choirs singing at one time from three different areas of the Moores Opera House to a world premiere of a brand new piece. There will be JOY for everyone!”
Selections to be performed include:
- “Magnificat” (by Giovanni Gabrieli) - Moores Concert Chorale
- “Magnificat” (by Felix Mendelssohn) – Moores Concert Chorale
- “Sing We Now of Christmas” (by MSM alum Brian Cook) – University Women’s Chorus
- “Morning Song” (arranged by James E. Green) – University Women’s Chorus
- “Ain’t No Grave” (arranged by Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory) – University Women’s Chorus
- “Sunny Bank” (by Eleanor Daley) – Concert Women’s Chorus
- “Gaudete! Gaudete!” (by Lana Walter) – Concert Women’s Chorus
- World premiere of “The Nativity” (by Thomas Juneau) – ManCorps, ManChoir
UH’s choirs perform on campus and in the community. The Concert Chorale is the university’s premiere large choral ensemble consisting of mainly junior and senior music majors. It has developed an international following after impressive showings at festivals in Wales, France and Germany. The Concert Women’s Chorus is a select chorus of intermediate to advanced choral singers. It has performed at the Texas Music Educators Association and Southwest Division of the American Choral Directors Association. ManCorps is an auditioned choir that includes music and non-music majors. The group recently performed the National Anthem before the Houston Texans-New England Patriots football game. ManChoir also is open to students from all disciplines. It has performed with the Victoria Symphony, the Houston Tidelanders and Bay Area Chorus. The University Women’s Chorus is open to all UH faculty, staff, students and spouses. It performs with the other UH ensembles during the annual Ortatorio concert. Visit the UH Choirs website to learn more about these vocal ensembles.
The Moores School of Music offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. It serves approximately 600 students annually. Areas of study include composition, conducting, performance, theory and musicology. Its faculty consists of internationally recognized performers, composers and scholars. A majority of the school's concerts are performed in the 800-seat Moores Opera House. For more details on the Moores School of Music, visit http://www.music.uh.edu/.