Christmas Concerts!

Hello Everyone!
The snow has fallen, the christmas lights are hung, all I need are some cookies and christmas is officially here! I have less than a week left till christmas break! I cannot start to explain how happy I am that I'll finally be able to sleep a bit and not have to go to rehearsals or school or spend hours at night doing homework!

Since christmas is almost here, and today is OFFICIALLY the start of the 12 days of christmas, why not celebrate with some concerts?
Listed below are tons of concerts that are happening in the next few weeks for those in the Ottawa area, some with bigger choirs and orchestras, and some with not as well known choirs. Check them out if you can and get some tickets because it's a great way to spread the christmas cheer and to support local musicians!

December

12th; 

•  The Ottawa-Carleton Male Choir and the Akord Ukrainian Men's Choir present a Christmas concert A Wreath of Carols 
• The Stairwell Carollers perform O magnum mysterium, an evening of carols, old and new at Knox Presbyterian Church
• Under the direction of Roland Graham, the new Ottawa Folklore Centre Choirs and the Southminster United Church Choir join forces to perform Vivaldi's Gloria (RV 589). Also performing are sopranos Browyn Thies-Thompson and Isabelle Lacroix, mezzo-soprano Lydia Piehl and organist Jennifer Loveless

12th and 13th (Friday and Saturday);

• The Capital City Chorus presents A Capital City Chorus Christmas, featuring a selection of seasonal songs, both old and new, by the chorus and a number of guests, including a women's chorus 13 (Saturday) 
• The world-famous King's Singers performs an eclectic mix of holiday music, from Renaissance motets to modern carols to little-heard folk melodies
• Tone Cluster presents a concert of traditional and non-traditional holiday music
• Almonte in Concert presents Christmas with Buzz, a concert by the award-winning brass quintet Buzz
• The Orchestre symphonique de Gatineau presents The Magic of Disney, featuring the themes from Beauty and the Beast, Aladin, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas, The Lion King and many other wonderworks by Disney, all accompanied by projections on the big screen
• Castenchel Choir celebrates the holiday season with their concert Christmas in Chelsea featuring traditional and contemporary Christmas songs including Carol of the Bells, Rutter's arrangement of Il est né le divin enfant and Handel's Hallelujah Chorus 13 and 14 (Saturday and Sunday) 

14th; 

• The West Ottawa Ladies Chorus presents A Garland of Carols, a concert that also features the Trinity Handbell Quartet and the West Ottawa Chorale 14 (Sunday) 
• Thirteen Strings presents Christmas Candlelight, featuring music by Purcell and Bach and a new cantata,Rosa Mystica, by Canadian John Burge. The Choir from École secondaire De La Salle performs as well
• The Ottawa Bach Choir presents Christmas around the World, with harpist, Caroline Léonardelli
• Matthew Larkin performs some classical Christmas music on the Christ Church organ
• The St. Luke's Recital Series presents John Dapaah on piano
• At St. Basil's Church, the Bytown Voices presents Candlelight and Jingle Bells, a holiday concert featuring Christmas songs arranged by John Rutter, Philip Kern and Maurice Ravel, as well as lively Hanukkah and seasonal songs
• The Ottawa Children's Choir presents Company for Christmas
• The Village Voices Women's Choir presents Mystery of Christmas, featuring the Ottawa Youth Harp Ensemble
• The Canterbury Trebles presents Through Winter's Window, an afternoon of wintery music with special guest Vocum 16 (Tuesday) 

16th; 

• The Canadian Centennial Choir presents Messe de Minuit pour Noël (Midnight Mass for Christmas) by Baroque composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier, featuring other seasonal works and sing-a-long carols as well
• L'Arche Ottawa is an international federation of faith-based communities founded by Jean Vanier. It provides homes and day programs with people who have developmental disabilities. This is a fundraising concert for the organization that features Marie-France Lefebvre and Jean Desmarais on piano and opera singers Isabelle Lacroix and Denis Lawlor and the Chorale Lyrica Choir (a children's choir) 

16th-17th; 

• NAC: The Orchestra is joined by the Cantata Singers under the direction of Lawrence Ewashko for a performance of Handel's Messiah 

17th;

• DOFMS presents Tidings of light and joy a contemporary take on Christmas, featuring a mix of well-known and original songs for the season by the composer and performer, Elise Letourneau, piano, flute and vocals, and Tim Bedner, guitar. See full program and notes at this link
• The Stairwell Carollers perform O magnum mysterium, an evening of carols, old and new at St Columba Anglican Church in Ottawa 

18th;

• Centrepointe Theatres present internationally renowned tenor, star of Riverdance and PBS' Beyond Celtic, Michael Londra in Celtic Yuletide, an evening of Christmas delights straight from Ireland
• ORYC presents Rutter's Magnificat at St.Joe's Parish at 7PM

19th;

• Pianist Carson Becke plays the music of Mozart, Schumann, Chopin, Debussy, Scriabin, and a Christmas Carol or two at the beautiful Venturing Hills Concert Studio 21 (Sunday) 
• The Nepean Concert Band presents its Christmas concert, otherwise known as the Super Secret Themed December Concert

21st;

• Music and Beyond presents a Christmas concert, featuring Shannon Mercer, Julie Nesrallah, local youth choirs, and the Chamber Players of Canada

If you're interested in buying tickets to any of these concerts, click here for links to each of these concerts!
I hope you are able to catch one of these rocking concerts in this great holiday season. Its a wonderful way to spend time with your family while experiencing something great (and again, supporting your local musicians!)

Until next time,

Tessa