Siskiyou Singers, now in its 38th year of creating engaging choral music for the Rogue Valley, will present “Where There Is Love,” a free online concert celebrating the 2020 holiday season.
The concert will premiere on Friday, Dec. 11 on the choir’s website, siskiyousingers.org.
Siskiyou Singers normally presents two concert programs per year (one in early December, another in late April/early May) at Southern Oregon University’s Music Recital Hall. The choir looks forward to returning to in-person performances but is determined to keep making great music in the meantime.
For the December concert, choir Director Mark Reppert brought together a variety of compositions, both sacred and secular, that capture the spirit of the holiday season during this challenging time:
- “O Magnum Mysterium” by Luis Victoria is a well-known and sacred Christian motet. This highly polyphonic Renaissance piece tells of the great mystery at the manger when all the animals of the stable gathered around to worship Baby Jesus.
- “Silent Night,” arranged by John Rutter, will be performed with virtual flute, clarinet, and harp.
- “Hanerot Halalu,” a rollicking Chanukah piece, is guaranteed to put a spring in our step.
- “Good King Kong” by PDQ Bach (J.S. Bach’s “illegitimate son”) delves into concerns about the royal nose, feet, and ears as well as St. Nick’s sleigh. It is a touching, albeit nonsensical story–complete with kazoos.
- The centerpiece of the program will be “Ubi Caritas” by Maurice Duruflé. Sung in Latin, the piece offers the message: “Where there is charity and love, we can gather as one.”
Since September, choir members have participated in weekly rehearsals using a variety of online and streaming tools. They then recorded their individual parts of each composition at home, with Reppert assembling them to create a unified choir for the online concert.
Siskiyou Singers is a community choir emphasizing high-quality performances that are accessible and affordable to listeners of all ages and interests. The choir’s repertoire is diverse, encompassing both sacred and secular music from Renaissance madrigals to American spirituals, from 18th century masses to multi-cultural and modernist compositions of today.