One of Vancouver’s most cherished holiday events will unveil some new musical offerings in a glorious venue. The annual Christmas with Chor Leoni concerts will include four world premieres at St. Andrew’s-Wesley United (1022 Nelson Street). The performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday (December 18), 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday (December 19), and 2 p.m., 5 p.m., and 8 p.m. on Saturday (December 20).
One of the world premieres is by Chor Leoni composer-in-residence Marie-Claire Saindon. “Jubilo” pairs medieval Christmas songs with folk reels and fiddling.
Meanwhile, Vancouver santour player Saina Khaledi has composed “My Beloved”, which will also be performed in public for the first time. According to Chor Leoni, it’s “a Persian Solstice (‘Yalda’) song inspired by her father and the Persian tradition of enjoying poetry, music, wine, and memories with loved ones on the longest night of the year”.
The other two world premieres are new arrangements of carol reinventions by Tori Amos and Sufjan Stevens. In the latter case, local musician Ken Cormier will reintroduce the “Gloria” sequence to “Angels We Have Heard on High”.
The Chor Leoni singers will also perform traditional holiday favourites, such as “Silent Night”, “Deck the Halls”, and “Ding Dong Merrily on High”. They’ll be joined by a stellar musical lineup that includes Khaledi on santour, pianists Tina Chang and Karen Lee-Morlang, harpist Vivian Chen, violinist Cameron Wilson, and guitarist Keith Sinclair,
“Our goal is to both entertain and inspire, soothe and delight,” said Chor Leoni artistic director Erick Lichte in a news release. “We aim to fulfill every listener’s Christmas wish list with surround-sound singing of ancient and new, and send audiences into the Christmas season full of hope, light, and a renewed sense of purpose for the holiday season that lies ahead.”
Event details
Chor Leoni presents Christmas with Chor Leoni at 7 p.m. on Thursday (December 18), 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday (December 19), and 2 p.m., 5 p.m., and 8 p.m. on Saturday (December 20). All concerts will be St. Andrew’s-Wesley’s United (1022 Nelson Street). For tickets and more information, visit the Chor Leoni website.
