Seven can't-miss Christmas concerts in Tuscaloosa
It's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas and Tuscaloosa has plenty of concerts to help spread the holiday cheer.
Here's a look at some notable Christmas concerts coming up in the days ahead:
Shelton State
The Shelton State Community College music department will host the college's annual tree lighting and sing-along at 1 p.m. Dec. 3 in the atrium of the Martin campus, 9500 Old Greensboro Road. Sacred and secular holiday pieces will be performed, and the audience will participate in a sing-along. Also, the music department will present its annual Christmas concert at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 5 in the Martin campus atrium, featuring the Shelton Singers and the Shelton State Jazz Ensemble. Both events are free and open to the public.
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Druid City Chorus
The Druid City Chorus will hold its first concert at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Moody Music Building, 810 Second Ave. The show is free and open to the public. The chorus is an ensemble that consists of members of the community and faculty and staff at the University of Alabama, Shelton State Community College and Stillman College.
'Hilaritas'
The University of Alabama's School of Music will present "Hilaritas," at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6 and 2 p.m. Dec. 8, at the Moody Music Building, 810 Second Ave. on the UA campus. "Hilaritas" was created at UA in 1969 by Steve Sample Sr., then director of jazz, and Fred Prentice, director of choral studies, blending new and established jazz and pop arrangements of classical, standard and contemporary songs, sacred and secular, from the season. The name came from a Greek word translating loosely to "Live joyfully and be proud of what you are." Tickets cost $15 for general admission, $5 for seniors and children and $5 for UA students, faculty and staff.
Stillman College Choir
The Stillman College Choir's Christmas Candlelight Concert will be at 6 p.m. Dec. 8 at Birthright Alumni Hall, Stillman campus. Admission is free. The choir, directed by Jocqueline K. Richardson, is comprised of music majors and non-music majors at the school and its repertoire includes a wide variety of secular and sacred songs. The Stillman College campus is at 3601 Stillman Blvd. in Tuscaloosa.
'Home for the Holidays'
The Tuscaloosa Symphony will perform its "Home for the Holidays" concert beginning at 7 p.m. Dec. 9 at the Moody Music Building, 810 Second Ave., on the UA campus. The TSO show will also feature the Alabama Choir School, the Alabama Choral Society and the Prentice Concert Chorale. Tickets cost $40, with students admitted free. For more information, go to www.tsoonline.org .
Alabama Choir School
The Alabama Choir School will hold its winter concert at 7 p.m. Dec. 14 in the concert hall of the Moody Music Building, 810 Second Ave., on the UA campus. The performance will feature a variety of seasonal pieces, including traditional holiday carols, spirituals and songs from around the world, contemporary and popular. Tickets cost $15. The choir consists of children in the first through 12th grades. For more information, go to www.alachoirschool.org .
'Amahl and the Night Visitors'
The University of Alabama Opera Theatre will bring the moral and magical Christmas tale of "Amahl and the Night Visitors" to life in one performance only at 3 p.m. Dec. 15 at Bryant-Jordan Hall on the Bryce side of the UA campus. The opera is a family-oriented production about a disabled boy's interaction with three traveling kings, the biblical Magi, and how his loving mother with a heart of gold tries to teach him vital life lessons. Admission is free and open to the public.
Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@gannett.com .
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Sounds of the season: Seven holiday concerts in Tuscaloosa
