Great Rivers Choral Society Invites Community to Free Christmas Concert

ALTON/GODFREY - Great Rivers Choral Society will perform their annual holiday concert next weekend to help everybody feel the Christmas spirit.

“Silver Glow: A Christmas Celebration” will encourage holiday cheer while reflecting on the choir’s silver anniversary. GRCS members noted their excitement to share their hard work with the community

“I think everybody needs a little uplifting right now in this day and age,” said member Pat Stewart. “It'll be a very nice concert for anyone that wants to put a little bit more spirit into their Christmas season.”

At 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, you can attend the concert at Upper Alton Baptist Church in Alton. At 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13, the choir will perform at Main Street United Methodist Church in Alton. At 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 14, the show is scheduled at Godfrey First United Methodist Church in Godfrey. The concerts are free to attend, though donations are accepted.

Director Raynard Brown encourages people to come out to one or all three of the concerts. He chose to blend traditional Christmas favorites with more contemporary holiday songs, creating a unique ten-song setlist for audiences to enjoy.

“I think that people who come out to these concerts will be wonderfully pleased with the seasonal music,” he said. “It will set them up for a really good time this Christmas season.”

Brown described all of the choir’s performances as “a great celebration of choral singing.” As GRCS continues its 25th season and Brown marks his sixth year as director, he expressed his appreciation for all GRCS members, and he noted his goal to grow the choir and collaborate with other music groups in town.

“What we’re capable of doing has been amazing,” he explained. “I want to just pull all the musical people that are in town together just to make Alton more of a musical community that works together. There’s so much talent in the town that I think goes unnoticed…The plan is to become more and more creative, within the community, out of the box.”

Stewart added that GRCS members are “so grateful” for Brown and eager to continue their work under his direction. She pointed out that this year has been an important one for the choir. They recently performed at Carnegie Hall, which Stewart described as “one of the highlights of [her] life.”

“This whole year has been very exciting and monumental as far as it being our 25th season,” she said. “There are lots of good things to come.”

Looking ahead, Stewart and Brown hope to see many people come out to the “Silver Glow: A Christmas Celebration” concerts. They also want to encourage more people, especially youth, to join the choir. They fought hard to keep GRCS going during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are proud of all they have been able to accomplish in the past 25 years.

“Community choirs are few and far between, and the majority of us are all people who are just passionate about music. We know we’re not the only limited number out there,” Stewart said. “People are having fun while they're singing, if you watch the expressions. We’ve got some beautiful voices in the choir. It's very exciting to be part of it now.”

For more information about Great Rivers Choral Society, including their upcoming “Silver Glow: A Christmas Celebration” concerts, visit their official website at GRCSSing.org or their official Facebook page.

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