Holiday Concert Will Be a "Winter Wonderland"

MANSFIELD, PA—While most people are thinking about their Thanksgiving Day menu, Peggy Dettwiler and the five vocal ensembles under her direction are putting final touches on their annual choral concert that ushers in the December holiday season.
“Winter Wonderland” will be performed Friday, December 2, Saturday, December 3 and Sunday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m. in Steadman Theatre.
The program will feature pop holiday favorites Walking in a Winter Wonderland, The Christmas Song, White Christmas and Jingle Bells, as well as music by Thomas Morley, Randall Thompson, Henry Purcell, Claude Debussy, and Edward Elgar.
“I always work to find themes that relate to familiar music and music from the historical canon,” Dettwiler said. “Composers have been inspired by the beauty and romance of snow for hundreds of years.” If the early snowfall we’ve had is anything to go by, the theme is very timely.
The program will begin with the 85-voice Women’s Choir performing, followed by the 60-member Men’s Choir. The Chamber Singers, a select ensemble of 16 men and women, will sing prior to a brief intermission.
The largest ensembles comprise the second half of the program, starting with the 120 voice Festival Chorus, which includes community, faculty, and staff members. Next the award-winning Concert Choir of 58 voices will sing.
The finale will follow the tradition of past years and be sung by the combined ensembles as they fill the hall on all sides and aisles.
In between the ensemble performances, the audience is invited to participate in carol sing-a-long for which words are provided.
“It’s a great way to kick off the season, and folks seem to love the participatory aspect of it,” Dettwiler said.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $5 for students and children and are available online at music.mansfield.edu or by calling (570)662-4710.
MU students, faculty and staff with ID will be admitted free.
Due to the popularity of the holiday concert, patrons are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance and arrive 30 minutes before concert time.
The concert is supported in part by student activity fees.