This December, the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park will present their annual holiday concerts, A Classic Christmas in four performances on December 16 and 17 in Knowles Memorial Chapel (on the campus of Rollins College, 1000 Holt Avenue, Winter Park) featuring the Bach Festival Choir, Youth Choir, and Orchestra. The Society has a long history of collaboration with Rollins College, and this program continues the tradition with seven arrangements of traditional carols by current and previous Rollins students.
Among the arrangers are current students John Maclane Schirard (“Away in a Manger”) and Jeremy Umlauf (“Angels We Have Heard on High”), 2017 grad Fletcher Wilson (“Good Christian Men, Rejoice”), 2015 grad Eric Hueman (“O, Little Town of Bethlehem”). 2004 Rollins graduate Chris Weiss, who went on to study at the Curtis Institute of Music and the University of Michigan, has arranged three works on the concert: “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” and “Wassailing.”
“We are proud of our history in Winter Park,” said Artist Director and Conductor John V. Sinclair. “Not only do we have vocalists who have sung with us for more than 50 years, but we are constantly bringing in fresh, new talent through Rollins. The combination of seasonal favorites and new arrangements on this concert will make it an amazing musical experience.”
Rollins College has a longstanding relationship with the Bach Festival Society, which was founded in 1935 with the Rollins College Choir as its nucleus. The Society’s current Artist Director and Conductor, John V. Sinclair, is also the chair of the Rollins College Department of Music.
Sinclair says the Bach Festival’s Christmas concerts have been an annual tradition since 2001: “Our patrons tell us it just isn’t Christmas without this concert.”
Concerts will be performed Saturday, December 16 and Sunday, December 17 at both 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Tickets start at $25. More information is available at BachFestivalFlorida.org or 407-646-2182.
Located in Winter Park, Florida, the BACH FESTIVAL SOCIETY is one of the longest continuously operating Bach Festivals in the country and among America’s great oratorio societies. The Society brings classical music to Central Florida in the intimate settings of Tiedtke Concert Hall and Knowles Memorial Chapel on the Rollins College campus during its annual festival and throughout the year. The Society also presents a variety of educational and community outreach programs. BachFestivalFlorida.org | @BachFestivalWP
