Annual WINTER'S GIFTS: PEACE Concert to Play Santa Clara and Palo Alto in December

The 18th annual Winter's Gifts concert, presented by The Choral Project and San José Chamber Orchestra, will return to celebrate and exalt peace. Fifty-five singers and musicians will join to perform in these December holiday performances.

The two acclaimed and award-winning nonprofit music organizations present their signature choral and string-based sounds. Winter's Gifts: PEACE will be performed in two Bay Area venues on Friday, December 16th (8pm) at Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and again on Saturday, December 17th (8pm) at First United Methodist Church in Palo Alto.

Included in the repertoire will be world music that centers on the theme of hope, especially in songs like Paul Cadwell and Sean Ivory's "Hope for Resolution," which pairs the plainchant "Divinum mysterium" with the South African song "Thula Sizwe" ("Nation, Do Not Cry"). The song was written for Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk, two figures in history who in working together dismantled apartheid.

Of the concert, the San José Chamber Orchestra Music Director Barbara Day Turner shares, "Winter's Gifts was envisioned as a program of music to help soothe and inspire, especially in December when many navigate feeling overwhelmed and remember loved ones. As music is the great equalizer, this performance will elevate our mood and bring us together."

"That's why Barbara and I decided 'peace' was the perfect theme for this year's collaboration," says The Choral Project Artistic Director Daniel Hughes. "It is increasingly rare for a single day to go by without learning about the hardships in Ukraine, the random acts of violence towards people of color and minority communities, the rampant social injustice in Iran, or the polarizing discord in our own country. Music can be a way for us to gather as a community and reminds us of our interconnectedness."

Additionally, the concert will also feature music by René Clausen, Joan Szymko, William Susman, Ahmed Alabaca, and world premieres by Theodore Lucas and Daniel Hughes.

All audience members, regardless of age, must be fully vaccinated and demonstrate proof of vaccination at every performance. Masking is not required but is highly encouraged.

TICKETS: General Admission: $40 | Seniors: $25 | Students: $10

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