BGMC Lifts its Voice for 'Peace on Earth'

On Friday, December 7th at 8pm, 150-voice Boston Gay Men's Chorus will celebrate the season with a tour of holiday music from across the globe with the first of three concerts titled Peace On Earth – Holidays Around the World.

"The world situation called out for a program that reaffirmed our shared values for peace during this season of light. So we've designed a program that celebrates many holiday traditions and takes us from France to Spain, Finland, Bosnia, Israel, Nigeria and back to the U.S. Through our singing, we hope to inspire the true values of the holiday season." said music director Reuben Reynolds in a press statement.

Traditional Christmas music in the concert includes Gustav Holst's "Christmas Day," Hymn to the Nativity" by David Conte for chorus and soprano, "Twelve Days of Christmas" "Silent Night," and a Conrad Susa arrangement of the Catalonian carol "Fum, Fum, Fum." World music traditions include "Ose Shalom" ("The One Who Makes Peace) by John Leavitt, a Finnish folk song "Water Under Snow is Weary" by Harri Wessman and Babatunde Olatunji's "Betelehemu," sung in the West African Yoruba dialect. Kurt Bestor's "Prayer of the Children" is a song of peace from Bosnia, written during that country's civil war.

The finale of the show will highlight Christmas songs written for Broadway shows including "Hard Candy Christmas" from Best Little Whorehouse and the irrepressible 60s dance number "Turkey Lurkey Time" from Promises, Promises, plus a soul-infused medley of Christmas songs by resident arranger Chad Weirick.

Additional performances will be held on Saturday, December 8 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. All concerts are held at New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall. An additional special family matinee concert will be held on Saturday, December 15 at 2 p.m. at Arlington Street Church in Boston, MA

Tickets for Peace On Earth are $45, $35, $25, and $15 and are on sale by phone by calling 617-542-SING or by visiting www.bgmc.org. Tickets are also available in person at the Jordan Hall Box Office, 30 Gainsborough St., Boston, MA.