Hartford Gay Men's Chorus Presents JOIN HANDS AND CELEBRATE! This Weekend

The Hartford Gay Men's Chorus will open its second season with Join Hands and Celebrate! - a joyful mix of choral and contemporary holiday music, including a world premiere composition for "In the Bleak Midwinter" by Composer Evan Lurie and the revival of a 1930's cantata, "The Music of Bethlehem."

Also featuring the Chorus' new seven member a cappella group, On That Note!, the concerts will be at 8 p.m. tonight, December 13, and Saturday, December 14, at the Unitarian Society of Hartford Church at 50 Bloomfield Avenue. Tickets are $23 and can be purchased at www.hartfordstage.org or by calling 860-527-5151.

In the first half of the concert, selections will include "The Music of Bethlehem" cantata, a blend of beautiful harmonies and some familiar melodies, as well as the world premiere of "In the Bleak Midwinter" by Lurie. His music provides a new setting for the popular nineteenth century poem by Christina Rossetti. A composer for film, television, dance and concerts, New Yorker Lurie is well-known as a founding member of the jazz fusion group The Lounge Lizards and as the composer for the TV series "The Backyardigans."

The second half will give life to some of the season's most celebratory tunes, such as "Christmas Can-Can" by On That Note!; Hawaiian Christmas ditty "Mele Kalikimaka;" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree."