As a gift to the community, the chorale’s annual holiday concert will be free to all who would like to watch it.
Each year, Texas Tech University's School of Music joins the Lubbock Chorale to deliver an annual holiday concert to the Lubbock community. This year's concert, "Home for the Holidays: Songs of Comfort and Joy," will debut at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow (Dec. 19) on YouTube and will be available for streaming through the end of the month. To access the stream, viewers should request a link by emailing info@lubbockchorale.org.
As a gift to the community, the concert is free to all who would like to watch it. It also will be streamed on TVs throughout University Medical Center.
"So many people have endured various types of stress this year," said Joan Goodman-Williamson, board president of the Lubbock Chorale and executive director for International Relations in Texas Tech's Office of International Affairs. "We wanted to give a gift of music, comfort and joy back to the community."
The concert will mix well-known and beloved choral sounds from the classic "Carol of the Bells," based on a Ukrainian folk chant, to the Vince Guaraldi Trio's "Christmas Time is Here," made famous by the 1965 presentation of "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Also included will be performances of "Deck the Halls" submitted by community members.
The School of Music, part of the J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts, has long partnered with the Lubbock Chorale. The chorale includes Texas Tech faculty and staff among its members and leadership, like associate professor of voice John Hollins, who currently serves as artistic director, and Alan Zabriskie, director of choral studies and associate professor of music, who will serve as artistic director for the Lubbock Chorale beginning in January.
The partnership is multifaceted. University students studying voice, conducting and chorale production are members of the group. The chorale uses rehearsal and performance space within the School of Music, and proceeds from its annual gala help fund Texas Tech student scholarships.
"The Lubbock Chorale maintains an integral relationship with our School of Music," said Genevieve Durham DeCesaro, Interim Dean of the J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts. "The Chorale represents a model of civic engagement and inter-arts collaboration that provides our students with a rich and rigorous choral experience. We are delighted that the Chorale is gifting our community with its 'Home for the Holidays' concert, and, as always, we are grateful for our partnership with the Lubbock Chorale."
This semester, the School of Music also delivered its chorale performances virtually. The performances are featured in a YouTube playlist, "Yet Still We Sing," that includes an introduction from Zabriskie, a collection of Texas Tech ensemble performances and interviews with students about the fall semester and adapting to performing during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The performances were recorded at various venues without audiences and with performers wearing special masks designed for singers.
"We are so grateful that we have been able to continue to sing together during the many adjustments that we have had to make this semester and to staff and community members at each of these locations who have made our performances possible," Zabriskie said. "Students are the backbone of all of our efforts in the chorale studies area at Texas Tech, and I'm thankful for the perseverance, flexibility dedication, intelligence, talent and humanity they have displayed this semester."
For more information about the Lubbock Chorale, click here.
For more information about the School of Music, click here.
