Great Rivers Choral Society to Perform Free Christmas Concert
ALTON/GODFREY - The Great Rivers Choral Society will offer a free Christmas concert this weekend.
“Sing We Now of Christmas,” the community choir’s annual Christmas show, invites community members to come out and enjoy holiday classics. The show will premiere at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 13, at Upper Alton Baptist Church in Alton; 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Alton; and Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, at Godfrey First United Methodist Church in Godfrey.
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“As I see our audiences grow, it reaffirms the importance of being able to listen to live music,” said President Pat Stewart. “Especially at Christmas time, who doesn’t like Christmas music?”
The show is completely free to attendees, though the choir will be accepting a freewill offering. Great Rivers Choral Society (GRCS) members will also be holding a bake sale at the Sunday, Dec. 15, performance, so Stewart encourages people to “put a couple extra dollars in your pocket and bring home some Christmas cookies.”
The choir is currently raising money for a trip to New York City. GRCS was invited to sing at Carnegie Hall in June 2025. Every donation goes toward their fundraising efforts to alleviate costs for members. They are preparing Mozart’s “Requiem” to perform alongside other choirs at Carnegie Hall.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I’m super excited about it,” Stewart said.
She noted that this trip will also mark the choir’s 25th anniversary. GRCS worked hard to stay together throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and is still “going strong,” a fact that pleases Stewart.
“I’m very, very excited and proud to be president of this organization,” she said. “Community choirs just are a thing of the past, so we’re pretty proud to be able to say we’re still alive and kicking.”
Stewart thanked the GRCS board members and Music Director Raynard Brown for their continued work to strengthen the choir. She added that GRCS would not be possible without the support of the community. The choir gives back by providing three free concerts a year and volunteering with other organizations throughout the Riverbend area.
As GRCS continues to thrive, their membership is growing. Stewart encourages interested singers to visit their official website to learn more about joining the choir.
“We have a really good time,” she said. “If this is something that you think you might be interested in, you don’t have to be a music major by any means. Just if you have a passion for singing, we’ll make it happen for you.”
For more information about the upcoming “Sing We Now of Christmas” concert or GRCS’s Carnegie Hall performance, visit the official Great Rivers Choral Society website at GRCSSing.org or their Facebook page.
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