The Susquehanna Valley Chorale (SVC), the area’s premier community choral singing group, is pleased to release its third virtual performance, available to the public for free on YouTube, Facebook and the SVC’s website, SVCMusic.org.

The special Christmas virtual performance will be available on Monday, December 14 and will feature two well-known favorites from the SVC’s traditional, in-person Candlelight Christmas program: “Still, Still, Still” and “Candlelight Carol” along with a few readings by Carlos Kearns. Members of the SVYC will also be joining the SVC in the performance.

ABOUT THE PIECES*
*Notes provided by Gary Boerckel, Lycoming College
The Norman Luboff Choir was one of the leading American choruses from the 1950s through the 1970s. The Choir’s recording of “Still, Still, Still” in 1958 was an instant hit, and Luboff’s arrangement has not lost any of its popularity. The melody probably originated in the region around Salzburg, Austria–Mozart’s birthplace and the setting for The Sound of Music–and was first published in a collection of folk songs in 1865.

John Rutter [b. 1945] tells us that he wrote “Candlelight Carol” in 1984 as the result of a conversation with the director of a Catholic church choir …[who told him] “we’re only a small choir, nothing special, but we’d love you to write us a carol featuring the Virgin Mary”…When I started work the image that came into my mind was Geertgen’s lovely painting “Nativity at Night”….In a dark stable the Virgin Mary gazes down at the crib where Jesus is radiating a miraculous light illuminating her face and the figures of a group of kneeling angels, with Joseph standing by in wonder and a long bright angel in the sky above.

“We believe music is essential, and even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the SVC still intends to provide our local communities with incredible musical performances that provide hope, passion, and community to all who listen,” says Payn. To experience everything the Chorale has planned for this season, please follow along on Facebook, Instagram, and visit svcmusic.org to sign up for email announcements.

The SVC was founded in 1969 by a small group of musically oriented people who wished to sing, learn, and grow together in the performance of superb choral music. The group consists of over 100 members from communities across the Central Susquehanna Valley. Led by several distinguished conductors, the Chorale has emerged as the leading ambassador of the arts in the Central Susquehanna Valley. We are the region’s only community choral group dedicated to presenting orchestra-accompanied choral music of major standing.