St. Mary's Catholic Church Will Host the Collinsville Chorale

Nov 28, 2011 9:23 AM

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St. Mary's Catholic Church, 519 E. Fourth in Alton, will host the Collinsville Chorale as they perform their annual Christmas concert. The Collinsville Chorale usually holds their performances in the Collinsville area, as they will on Friday Dec. 2nd at Holy Cross Lutheran in Collinsville, but this year, they have agreed to a repeat performance at St. Mary's. Mark your calendars for Sunday Dec. 4th at 3:00pm. The concert is FREE and open to the public. The choir director, Andy Waggoner, along with about 15 chorale members, will have just returned from New York City where they performed at Carnegie Hall. Andy had the honor of directing the assembled 160 member chorus and the accompanying 40 member orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

The lineup for the concert at St.Mary's features some traditional favorites: Silent Night, God Rest You Merry Gentlemen and the The Little Drummer Boy. "Christmas in About Three Minutes" contains lyrics from some 23 carols-----count them if you can. The Chorale will also perform "Christmas on Broadway", which as the title suggests highlights several Christmas songs from Broadway hits or the movies. A new piece by Craig Courtney, "I Miss You Most at Christmastime" is very moving. The centerpiece of the afternoon is a cantata by Tom Fettke entitled "God is with US" and it features several carols that everyone will recognize. Everybody's favorite from previous concerts is the Chorale's rendition of "Oh Holy Night", a very dramatic rendering.

Local members of the chorale include: Ken Conrady, Jean Conrady, Ray Todd & Mike Cleary. You can learn more about the Chorale by visiting their website: collinsvillechorale.org.