The Down Town Glee Club Celebrates Young at Heart for the Holidays Winter Concert

The Down Town Glee Club, now in its 91ist year of showcasing exquisite male choral singing with live musical accompaniment, presents its annual winter concert at the Church of the Good Shepherd, 240 E. 31st Street, NYC on Thursday, December 13, 2018. Conductor and musical director Grant Mech will lead the men in a program of popular and traditional vocal fare.

This year's theme, Young at Heart for the Holidays, taps into the child in all of us - that joy and happiness we experience with youthful wonder and abandon at Holiday time. Helping to spread the seasonal spirit are the singers of the Most Precious Blood Youth Choir, a young women's chorus who will add their sublime distaff voices to the all-male glee. The group will sing several works from their repertoire as well as join the men for some wonderful mixed choir selections.

Highlighted in Young at Heart for the Holidays will be the music of Johnny Marks, Sammy Cahn and Vince Guaraldi, plus tunes from those unforgettable animated holiday television specials produced by Rankin/Bass­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­, such as "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "The Little Drummer Boy," "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" and "Jack Frost." Not to be forgotten are beautiful traditional pieces such as "Ose Shalom," "Ring Bells" and "Ave Maria."

The Most Precious Blood Youth Choir, under the direction of Parish Music Director Cynthia Macias, is part of the young adult music ministry of The Most Precious Blood Roman Catholic Church in Astoria, Queens. The choir's mission is fellowship and praise through song. Instrumentalists are also welcome in the program, which features participation in a special monthly Mass. The parish of The Most Precious Blood was founded in 1922 and has long supported diversity, education and youth advocacy.

The Down Town Glee Club, a hallmark of the New York cultural scene since 1927, represents a diverse range of ages, ethnicities and professional backgrounds. Distaff members, although a non-singing part of the organization, are especially welcome. The Down Town Glee Club, contrary to its name, has always been a far-reaching group, having performed a special concert for President Hoover in its early days, as well as performances at Carnegie Hall, the Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting, the Roosevelt Hotel, and more. The group continues to advocate the art form of male choral singing, with its special two-tenor, two-bass musical format, as a vibrantly popular entertainment in the cultural history of the nation.

Young at Heart for the Holidays, Thursday, December 13 at 7:30 PM at the Church of the Good Shepherd, 240 E. 31st Street, NYC.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. A complimentary reception follows. For tickets, call 917-524-8534 , email TheDownTownGleeClub@gmail.com or visit www.downtowngleeclub.org