A beloved holiday tradition continues with the 20th performance of Sing We Joyous, under the direction of William Chin, Dec. 13-14 at First United Methodist Church in Oak Park.
The concert combines the talents of the professional vocal ensemble Oriana Singers; City Voices, an Oak Park-based community chorus; and the Pro Musica Youth Chorus. Chin is the founder and artistic director of Oriana Singers; director of City Voices; and artistic director emeritus of Pro Musica Youth Chorus. The singers will be accompanied by the Sing We Joyous Orchestra on some selections.
Chin attributes the popularity of the annual event to several factors. “We like to engage our audience. We do have them sing with us every single year,” he said. “Also, we give them music that’s beautiful, that really represents the holidays. But we also have a friendly approach and sometimes a humorous approach. And it’s not all holiday music.”
Every year’s show is different, Chin reported, but a few things never change.
“We always open the second half with an arrangement of ‘Angels We Have Heard on High,’” Chin said. “And for quite a few years now, we have ended with ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.’”
To celebrate the 20th anniversary, the first piece in the program will be “Nowell,” an anonymous 15th century carol that was the first number performed in the first Sing We Joyous concert 20 years ago.
All three choruses will be combined this year for several selections, including a traditional carol, “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming.”
The concert will also include performances of “This Silent Night” by Steven James and “What Christmas Means to Me” by Stevie Wonder.
Audience members will get to ring little bells during a performance of “Sleigh Ride.”
“We’re going to give people all kinds of variety,” Chin reported. “I’m really looking forward to performing all this stuff.”
Laura Pinto, who has sung with the Oriana Singers for around nine years, is the artistic director of Pro Musica Youth Chorus.
Pinto said the popularity of Sing We Joyous “lies in its fundamental desire to delight people.”
“There’s nothing stuffy or pretentious about it,” she said. “It’s really about coming together as a community with musicians of all levels to celebrate the season.”
She said the Oriana Singers will perform “eclectic selections,” ranging from 15th and 16th century works to more contemporary pieces.
Almost 60 singers will perform with the Pro Musica Youth Chorus this year, almost doubling the group’s size since last season. That includes Pinto’s three sons.
“What’s fun for me as a parent is seeing them want it for themselves and come to it,” Pinto said.
Pro Musica’s selections will include, “Deck the Halls,” the song from which Sing We Joyous gets its name.
Alto Tammy Fuhrman, who is in her second year performing with City Voices, said the community choir “really is a fun group.”
“Bill (William Chin) gives us challenging music to learn every season,” she said. “I really appreciate the thoughtfulness behind the selections he chooses.”
Fuhrman said City Voices will perform a “great repertoire” at the concert.
“We have some really fun ones to get you in the holiday season,” she said. “There’s more reflective ones,” including “Sleep,” by Eric Whitacre, which “has some great dissonance in it. It’s a great a cappella piece.”
Fuhrman said Sing We Joyous audiences especially enjoy the concert because “It gives a chance for them also to sing a few tunes, which people love.”
Chin concluded that every year during Sing We Joyous, “I get a really warm feeling from the way the audience reacts.”
Performances of “Sing We Joyous” are 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13 and 4 p.m. Dec. 14 at First United Methodist Church, 324 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park. Tickets are $35: $30 for seniors; and free for ages 18 and under. Information is at 773-336-2446 or oriana.org.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
