by Dennis Dalman
Visions of Christmas – a manger, winter sleighs, jingling bells, chestnuts roasting and partridges in pear trees – will fill the air when the Great River Chorale performs its 14th annual Christmas concert Sunday, Nov. 30 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in St. Cloud.
The concert, dubbed A Merry Little Christmas, will feature the voices of more than 100 singers in two choirs – the Great River Chorale’s 56 adult singers and their guests, the 65 girls in the St. Cloud-area Cantabile choir.
Both choirs well represent the entire central Minnesota area. From St. Joseph, for example, there are four members in the Great River Chorale choir and three girls in the Cantabile choir.
Nina Lasceski is one of the St. Joseph adults who will perform in the Christmas concert. Lasceski, who is a nun at St. Benedict Monastery, is a soprano, now in her second year with Great River Chorale.
Originally from Michigan, Lasceski sang with the Saginaw (Michigan) Chorale Society for 20 years. She was also a director of a handbell choir and has helped frequently with music and musical liturgy. She also has a degree in broadcasting, with a specialty in radio. She moved to the St. Cloud area in August 2012.
“I have an opportunity to be able to sing with so many talented individuals,” Lasceski said. “Their talent is just absolutely amazing. Minnesota is known for its vocal music talent, and to belong to a group that can sing together and make music to share so many positive messages – well, it’s just wonderful. It’s a way to spread wonderful messages through music.”
Lasceski also noted how pleasurable it is when the Great River Chorale members learn from one another. The singers and conductor Mary Kay Geston, she said, are so talented they have many insights to share.
“So many people in the choir have such different backgrounds, some are music teachers and others don’t teach but have music degrees.”
The concert
A Merry Little Christmas will feature mostly the old tried-and-true nostalgic seasonal songs, including Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Away in a Manger, The Christmas Song, Winter Wonderland, Jingle Bells and The Twelve Days of Christmas.
It will also feature an original composition by St. Cloud composer J. Aaron McDermott and a contemporary Christmas song by Welsh composer Paul Mealor.
“It’s a great way to kick off the Christmas season just a few days after Thanksgiving,” said Deborah Ferrell, business manager for Great River Chorale, who also sings soprano with the group. “The variety in the choirs is amazing.”
A Merry Little Christmas will combine choral music and sing-along songs for the audience. It will also include text narration by Br. Paul Vincent Niebauer of the Order of St. Benedict, Collegeville.
Guest organist will be Charles Echols, emeritus professor of music for St. Cloud State University.
About the choirs
The Great River Chorale, now with 56 members, is a community choir based in St. Cloud. The singers hail from 16 cites throughout central Minnesota.
The choir is dedicated to enriching people through concerts, musical collaborations with local and regional guest artists and musical outreach programs.
Widely known, the ensemble has been featured on Minnesota Public Radio’s classical music Regional Spotlight show and was chosen to be a selection on MPR’s 2013 Taste of the Holidays CD.
Last year, in June, Great River Chorale was named the principal choral partner of the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra.
Mary Kay Geston has been artistic director of the chorale since 2010. The group’s ensemble accompanist is William White.
The Cantabile Girls’ Choir Program is sponsored by the St. Cloud State University Music Preparatory Program and offers two choirs for young girls in central Minnesota – the Choristers and Concert Choir. Both are comprised of auditioned singers in fourth through ninth grades. They have been part of SCSU’s Music Preparatory Program for 15 years.
The director of the Cantabile Concert Choir is Holly Lathe, and Betsy Eickhoff is conductor of the Cantabile Choristers.
Tickets
Tickets for A Merry Little Christmas may be purchased online at the chorale’s website at www.GreatRiverChorale.org
Bethlehem Lutheran Church is located at 4310 CR 137 in St. Cloud.