Weekend Concert Calendar, 12/18/08

[Note: So, I started this entry in the afternoon, and then I went to choir practice off in Cohasset, and I just got home and it's bloody-o'clock, so I'm not going to finish. That means this is a sadly incomplete list of what's going on this weekend; I apologize! Around Christmas time these Thursday entries take hours.]

Aaand...the Christmas choral season continues!

Spotlight this weekend is on Cappella Clausura, which will be performing near you no matter where you live. There is a great article about them today in the Boston Globe. They will be presenting "Gloria: A Christmas Pagaent" complete with dancers from Creationdance, costumes, and giant puppets, in Newton on Friday; in Bedford on Saturday afternoon; in Marblehead on Saturday evening; and in Cohasset on Sunday afternoon. The Sunday afternoon performance in Cohasset is at my church, so of course I am especially invested in gathering a big crowd for them. Details are below under the respective dates, and can also be found here.

Friday:

At 7:30 pm, the Wakefield First Parish Congregational Church presents their annual Messiah sing. This will be at 1 Church St, Wakefield, MA. More information is here.

At 8:00 pm, Cappella Clausura will present "Gloria: A Christmas Pagaent" at the First Unitarian Society in Newton. This will be at 1326 Washington St, West Newton. More information is here.

At 8:00 pm, Chorus pro Musica, under the direction of guest conductor Betsy Burleigh, will present Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols together with Conrad Susa’s Carols and Lullabies: Christmas in the Southwest. This will be at Old South Church, 645 Boylston St, Copley Sq., Boston.

At 8:00 pm, Masterworks Chorale presents their annual Messiah Sings under the direction of Steven Karidoyanes. This will be at Cary Hall, 1605 Mass. Avenue, Lexington, MA. More information is here. This will be repeated on Saturday.

At 8:00 pm, Musicians of the Old Post Road present "Christmas in Baroque Europe." This will be at Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury Street, Boston. This concert will be repeated on Saturday in Worcester.

At 8:00 pm, the Boston Gay Men's Chorus will present "Stars: A Holiday Celebration." At NEC's Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough St., Boston. This concert will be repeated on Saturday and Sunday.

At 8:00 pm, the Boston Boy Choir will present Britten's Ceremony of Carols, along with music by Biery, Marier, Rutter, and Victoria. This will be at St. Paul Church, Bow and Arrow Streets, Cambridge. This concert will be repeated on Sunday at 3:00 pm.

Saturday:

At 2:00 pm, Cappella Clausura will present "Gloria: A Christmas Pagaent" at First Parish in Bedford. This will be at 75 The Great Road, Bedford, On the Common. More information is here.

At 8:00 pm, Cappella Clausura will present "Gloria: A Christmas Pagaent" at St. Andrew's Church in Marblehead. This will be at 135 Lafayette St, Marblehead, MA. More information is here.

At 8:00 pm, Blue Heron will present "A French and Franco-Flemish Christmas, 1200/1500." This will be at First Church in Cambridge, 11 Garden Street, Cambridge.

At 8:00 pm, the Back Bay Chorale, under the direction of Scott Allen Jarrett, will present "An 18th-Century Christmas." This will be at Faneuil Hall, 1 Faneuil Hall Market Pl., Boston.

At 8:00 pm, Masterworks Chorale presents their annual Messiah Sings under the direction of Steven Karidoyanes. This will be at Cary Hall, 1605 Mass. Avenue, Lexington, MA. More information is here.

At 8:00 pm, Musicians of the Old Post Road present "Christmas in Baroque Europe." This will be at Trinity Lutheran Church, 73 Lancaster Street, Worcester.

At 8:00 pm, the Boston Gay Men's Chorus will present "Stars: A Holiday Celebration." At NEC's Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough St., Boston. This concert will be repeated on Sunday.

Sunday:

At 1:30 pm, the Friends of the Performing Arts in Concord (FOPAC) present a Messiah sing under the direction of Alan Yost. This will be at 51 Walden, Concord, MA. More information is here.

At 3:00 pm, the Handel and Haydn Society, under the direction of John Finney, present a festive program of Bach's Christmas music. The concert will include Cantata 191, "Gloria in excelsis Deo"; Cantata 151, "Süßer Trost, mein Jesus kömmt"; and the Magnificat. This will be at NEC's Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough Street, Boston.

At 3:00 pm, the Back Bay Chorale, under the direction of Scott Allen Jarrett, will present "An 18th-Century Christmas." This will be at Marsh Chapel, 733 Commonwealth Ave., Boston.

At 3:00 pm, the Boston Boy Choir will present Britten's Ceremony of Carols, along with music by Biery, Marier, Rutter, and Victoria. This will be at St. Paul Church, Bow and Arrow Streets, Cambridge.

At 3:00 pm, the Nashoba Valley Chorale presents its first annual Messiah Sing under the direction of Anne Watson Born. This will be at the Congregational Church of Littleton, MA, 330 King St, Littleton, MA. More information is here.

At 4:00 pm, Cappella Clausura will present "Gloria: A Christmas Pagaent" at First Parish Cohasset. This will be at 23 North Main St, Cohasset. More information is here.

At 5:00 pm, the Harvard Unitarian Church (that's Harvard, MA the town, not the university) will host its 43rd annual Messiah sing under the direction of Ted Johnson. This will be at the Harvard Unitarian Universalist Church, on the common of Harvard, MA. More information and directions are here.

At 7:30 pm, there will be a Belmont Open Sings read-through of Messiah (parts 1, 2, and bits of 3) under the direction of Mary Beekman. This will be at the Payson Park Church, 365 Belmont Street, Belmont, MA. More information is here.

At 8:00 pm, the Boston Gay Men's Chorus will present "Stars: A Holiday Celebration." At NEC's Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough St., Boston.