Cascadia’s annual holiday concerts, a longstanding Methow Valley tradition, bring the community two evenings of music by The Cascadia Chorale and the Pipestone Orchestra on Dec. 11 and 12 at the Methow Valley Community Center.
This year’s performances offer “lots of familiar and fun” music, with a focus on music written during the 1900s, said Dana Stromberger, who directs the Cascadia Chorale. “The program is almost exclusively music written in the 20th century,” she said. “It was a fun concept to work with.”
Stromberger said she is excited to include “Alleluia,” written by Randall Thompson in 1940, in the program. “It’s iconic and amazing, one of the most performed pieces of choral music ever written. I’ve wanted to do it for years,” said Stromberger, now in her seventh year as director.
The chorale has about 50 singers this year, include “quite a few new faces,” she said. A familiar face, Nancy Acheson, is back at the piano accompanying the singers.
The Pipestone Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Matthew Armbrust, will perform “Waltz of the Blue Danube” by Johann Strauss and “Christmas Overture” by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. The orchestra will support the Cascadia Chorale on many of the holiday classics.
The orchestra has about 30 members, ranging in age from 13-90, and includes visiting musicians from the region, Armbrust said.
The concerts begin at 7 p.m. each night. Admission is by donation. Reserve seats are available at brownpapertickets.com for $15 for adults and $5 for students. For information call 997-0222.
