“Holiday Sing” thing slated for UTD performance

by PegNews wire

Spanish-themed choral event kicks off the holiday season with carols, Renaissance solos and Old Saint Nick.

The genesis of the University of Texas at Dallas' Holiday Sing can be traced to 1976 when invitations went out to university neighbors for a campus special event. It's now become a tradition, with this year's free songfest scheduled for this Sat. (Dec. 1) at the University Theatre (on the UTD campus) at 8 p.m.

This year's program is titled “Feliz Navidad: Christmas in the Spanish World.” The show will include choral performances by soloists from the UT Dallas Chamber Singers with music provided by the Symphonic Brass Quintet. Edward Healy is the featured guitarist.

In addition to sing-alongs centered on traditional carols, there will be more structured performances of Renaissance villancicos from Canciones Uppsala, 1556: Dadme Albricias Hijos D'Eva, E la Don Don and Riu, riu chiu; Magnum Mysterium by Tomas Luis de Victoria; A la Nanita Nana, El Noi de la Mare and Campana Sobre Campana from “Christmas in the Southwest” by Conrad Susa; Three Spanish carols arranged by Robert Shaw and Alice Parker: The Carol of the Bird, La Viene la Vieja and Fum, fum, fum; and - last but not least - Jose Feliciano's seminal Feliz Navidad.

Santa will make an appearance, but only after participants and guests have fortified themselves with mulled cider (hard? soft? semi-soft?) and a variety of other holiday treats.

posted by JM