Nebraska Wesleyan’s University Choir, Jazz Choir, and Chamber Singers will be joined by choral ensembles from Columbus High School and Fremont High School to share the music and message of the season in a concert entitled Tidings of Comfort and Joy: Christmas With Wesleyan.
The performance will be held on Saturday, December 4 at 4:30 p.m. with a second performance at 7:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, located near NWU at 2723 N. 50th Street in Lincoln.
The five choral ensembles consisting of nearly 200 musicians will be accompanied by a string quintet, oboe, guitar, percussion, piano and organ. Together, they will share the timeless story of Christmas from around the world. The audience will be invited to sing along in several beloved carols. Among the choral selections are NWU's signature arrangement of "Silent Night," "Gloria" from Andre Thomas's Gospel Mass, "For Unto Us a Child is Born" from Handel's Messiah, and “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" in the style of Pentatonix.
Tom Trenney, assistant professor of music and conductor of choirs at Nebraska Wesleyan University, serves as artistic director and conductor of Christmas With Wesleyan. In selecting this year's theme, Trenney says, "Struggling to find our way through a global pandemic, suffering through a heightened season of political discord, and striving to create a more just and fair world can leave us all weary and worn. Nonetheless, Christmas comes to us with its message that comfort can come to hold our suffering and that joy can come to grace our sorrow. We hope that Christmas With Wesleyan will open our students' hearts and minds to the comfort and joy that the season offers us, regardless of the complexities and challenges of our circumstances. We look forward to sharing this message of hope with our families and friends."
The performance is free. A free-will offering will be collected to benefit the music and outreach of Nebraska Wesleyan University’s choirs. An online program of excerpts from this concert will premiere on First-Plymouth's Youtube and Facebook channels on Monday, December 20 at 7:30 p.m. Please contact ttrenney [at] nebrwesleyan.edu (ttrenney[at]nebrwesleyan[dot]edu) for more information related to the performance.