Holiday Celebration concludes Fall Arts Celebration

Falls Arts Celebration at Grand Valley State University concludes December 8 with the University Arts Chorale and the Jenison High School Chamber Singers joining Department of Music and Dance faculty and guests for a special performance of Robert Shaw’s “The Many Moods of Christmas.”

The concert, Grand Valley’s holiday gift performance to the West Michigan community, will feature traditional Christmas carols, with music from composers like Handel, Bizet and Bach. The December 8 event will take place at Fountain Street Church and is free and open to the public. Seating is limited.

“This is a unique performance opportunity as “The Many Moods” are almost never performed in their entirety. It will be amazingly popular with those who attend,” said Danny Phipps, chair of Music and Dance at Grand Valley.

“The Many Moods of Christmas: Celebrating the Traditional Music of the Holidays”
December 8
7:30 p.m.
Fountain Street Church
24 Fountain St. NE, Grand Rapids
Free and open to the public

“The Many Moods of Christmas” was created with collaborator Robert Russell Bennett in 1963 for a special RCA Victor recording release that same year. Combining the ageless music of 18 of the most traditional carols with well-loved holiday melodies, the talented duo constructed an oratorio-like iconic masterpiece that strings together tune after tune like pearls in a necklace, filling the listener with the magic and excitement of the holidays.

Shaw often has been cited as America’s greatest choral conductor, with a remarkable career that included positions as conductor and musical director of both the Cleveland and the Atlanta symphony orchestras.

For more information, visit www.gvsu.edu/fallarts, or call (616) 331-2185.