Saint Mary’s University choirs to present ‘Lessons & Carols’

Saint Mary’s University Concert Choir, Chamber Singers and Women’s Choir will present their annual holiday tribute, “Lessons and Carols,” at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6.

The performance — a celebration of Advent and the Nativity through sung and spoken word — will held at Chapel of Saint Mary’s of the Angels, located on the Saint Teresa campus.

Music will include some familiar carols, as well as selections by Byrd, Hassler, Rutter, Nystedt, Mozart, and a variety of other composers from Renaissance to the present.

The concert will feature the premiere of “Ovejita,” a setting of a Lorca poem in English translation by composer William Neil. The setting is for women’s voices and harp, and harpist Elinor Niemisto will join the women of the Concert Choir for the premiere. Neil's composition, along with a major work in preparation for the 2009 SMU Spring Choir Concert, is supported by a grant from the McKnight Foundation.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors and are available by calling the SMU Box Office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.