Arizona Repertory Singers (ARS) “Oh, Wondrous Night”

This December, join the Arizona Repertory Singers (ARS) to celebrate winter’s arrival with Oh, Wondrous Night!, a musical tour of familiar carols and choral classics. Wrapping up its 40th anniversary year, ARS draws on an extensive catalog as well as new additions for this program of 16 well-known songs, spirituals, revels, and treasured masterpieces.

Audience members will recognize songs from childhood, seasonal standards, and moving choral works. Six pieces feature piano accompaniment, and a string quartet backs four of the compositions. Of this walk down memory lane, music director Ryan Phillips observed, “ARS is delighted to present a repertoire of popular and beloved music to spark joy and set the tone for a festive holiday season.”

The singers are equally excited to share their enduring passion for choral singing with the wider Tucson community. Many have sung in choral groups throughout their lives or have returned to ensemble singing after a hiatus. Some are accomplished musicians in instruments apart from voice—piano, drums, clarinet, and more­­—often performing professionally, teaching, or directing. Their long tenures in ARS are a measure of their devotion to the transformative power of choral singing—one singer has been with ARS since its inception.

Program highlights are:

· the resonant Carol of the Bells, capturing the cadence and urgency of hand bells ringing and arranged by Peter Joseph Wilhousky;

· the Tomás Luis de Victoria version of O Magnum Mysterium, a Renaissance motet with imitative polyphony;
· two compositions by renowned English composer and conductor John Rutter—Candlelight Carol, a tribute to the beauty of nature and a mother’s love, and Angels’ Carol, its sweet harmonies conveying a message of peace and joy;

· a Hebrew folk favorite at concerts and Shabbat feasts, Hine Ma Tov, proclaiming the pleasures of coming together and arranged by Neil Ginsberg with flute and piano accompaniment;
· and the rousing Go Where I Send Thee!, a Black spiritual arranged by Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory, its fast tempo encompassing 15 key changes!

As ever, the ARS annual winter concerts are celebrations of choral music’s extraordinary beauty shared in community. Oh, Wondrous Night! indeed promises to be an occasion for both lifted voices and hearts. Please join Arizona Repertory Singers in the revelry; sing along to your favorite carols; and welcome the season with merriment and music.

CONCERT SCHEDULE

Saturday, December 7
3:00 pm
Christ Church United Methodist, 666 N. Craycroft Road, Tucson

Sunday, December 8
3:00 pm
Christ Church United Methodist, 666 N. Craycroft Road, Tucson

Sunday, December 15
4:00 pm
St. Mark Catholic Church, 2727 W. Tangerine Road, Oro Valley

Tickets are available in advance at arsingers.org. Prices are $22 online and $25 at the door. Students are admitted free with ID.

Founded in 1984, the Arizona Repertory Singers is an ensemble of nearly 50 singers from greater Tucson. Over the decades, the choir has developed an extensive musical archive and prides itself on presenting high-quality performances of both standard repertoire and new music. Its singers, selected through a rigorous audition process, represent a variety of work life careers in business, education, engineering, information technology, law, medicine, social service, science, and the arts. For more details, see arsingers.org.