School of Music's Holiday Concert for the Community is Dec. 8; features Bach's cantatas

Holiday Concert for the Community: J.S. Bach’s Cantatas for Christmas

Wednesday, December 8, 7:30 p.m.
Rosch Recital Hall
 

Now in its fifth season, the SUNY Fredonia School of Music presents the annual Holiday Concert for the Community on Wednesday, December 8 at 7:30 p.m. in Rosch Recital Hall on the SUNY Fredonia campus.

The production showcases the Fredonia College Choir under the direction of Dr. Gerald T. Gray and features an international cast of soloists and Baroque players from Boston, Cleveland and Toronto, alongside Fredonia’s world-class faculty and members of the Western New York Chamber Orchestra.

The program includes Johann Sebastian Bach’s seasonal cantatas “Nun Komm, der Heiden Heiland,” “Schau, lieber Gott, wie meine Feind,” and “Ich freue mich in dir.”

“These cantatas take you from the sparkle of hope in advent to the joy of the arrival of the infant Jesus,” said Dr. Gerald Gray. “The Holiday Concert for the Community has become a highly anticipated event in our community, and Bach’s beautiful and uplifting music is the perfect way to start off the holiday season.”

This year’s vocal soloists include soprano Alexandra MacDonald, an adjunct voice faculty member in the Fredonia School of Music; countertenor Raymond Chenez (Tallahassee, Fla.), tenor Matthew Anderson (Boston, Mass.), and baritone Aaron Engebreth (Portland, Maine).

The professional Baroque orchestra was hand-picked by Dr. Gray and includes concertmaster Andrew Fouts (Pittsburgh, Pa.), principal second violinist Edwin Huizinga (Ontario, Canada), cello continuo player Rafi Popper-Keizer (Cambridge, Mass.), Jordan Frazier (Fredonia, N.Y.) on contrabass, and organist Michael Beattie (Cambridge, Mass.).

The orchestra also includes violinists Sarah Abend-Fritz, Inga Yanoski and Maureen Yuen; violists David Rose and Brian Walnicki; bassoonist Laura Koepke; Oboe/Oboe D’amore I Marc Dubois and Christine Ford, and Roderick MacDonald on trumpet.

Thanks to our sponsors: 
This event is sponsored in part by the Faculty Student Association and by contributions from Ace Hardware of Port Washington, NY, Atlas Realty, Pamela and Randall Atwater, Dr. Karl Boelter, Chadwick Bay Academy of Dance, Cool Little Music Shop, Creaset, Eve’s Cuisine, Fredonia Hardware, Inc., Dr. Michele Lester, M&T Bank, Carrie Mason-Draffen, P*Dubs, R&D Fisk Precision Collision, Inc., George and Sharon Richardson, S&F Rentals, Jay Sackett and Alex Newbert, Shun Shimasaki, Diane and Richard Smith, Spann and Spann, P.C. Attorneys at Law, Sun Solar International, LLC., Victor A. Tomasulo III, Mass Mutual Financial Group, Vacanti’s Hair & Nail Salon, and Young + Wright Architectural.