Candlelight Christmas
SVC’s winter concert promises to be an intimate, heartwarming and joyous event. Join us!
Sunday, December 14 | 3pm
Zion Lutheran Church, Sunbury – view google map
Co-sponsor: Coldwell Banker / Penn One Real Estate;
Underwriters: Computer Support Services, Inc.; Margaret Weirick
Candlelight Christmas is a special adaption of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. Written to celebrate the birth of Jesus, this Christian piece features nine short Bible readings interspersed with the singing of Christmas Carols, hymns and choir music. The original Festival was arranged in 1918 by the Dean of King’s College in Cambridge, England; it’s intent was to celebrate the end of the Great War and reunite former adversaries.
The Festival was first broadcast in 1928 and is now airs every year to millions of people around the world. Church groups have embraced the work, typically by retaining the original reading of the nine passages and adapting their own musical selections.
SVC Music Director and Conductor William Payn’s program includes music from a diverse group of composers. Some of the works performed by the Chorale includes Paul Carey’s Ding Dong, Merrily on High!, John Rutter’s Angel’s Carol, and selections from Benjamin Britton’s Ceremony of Carols. The audience will be invited to join with the SVC singers in several familiar Christmas carols, including Joy to the World, O Come All Ye Faithful, and Silent Night.
The original King’s College version included organ accompaniment; ours features David Cover (organ), Elizabeth Asmus (harp), the Zion Lutheran Handbell Choir, (directed by David Reier) and a special guest soloist, soprano Emily Martin-Moberley. Plus, long-time Chorale supporter, Carlos Kearns will read the nine Bible passages.
Meet Our Special Guests
Emily Martin, soprano
Emily Martin is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music and Director of the Bucknell Opera Company. She continues to be active nationally as a classical singer and has performed numerous operatic roles including productions with the Santa Fe Opera, Chautauqua Opera, and Palm Beach Opera. Martin often appears in concert, and recent appearances include performances at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall in New York City and as a soloist with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.
Martin has directed productions with Opera Colorado, Central City Opera, and University of Colorado Opera Theater, among other companies. She is particularly interested in combining movement and acting with voice production to produce awareness of the physical body and optimum sound production. In the summer of 2014 at the NATS National Conference, with four colleagues, Emily launched a new online resource for teachers and students – www.artsongfinder.com – where art song repertoire has been analyzed musically and pedagogically.
Martin earned her bachelor’s of music in Vocal Performance at Boston University, an Artist Diploma from the Academy of Vocal Arts, and her D.M.A. in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Elizabeth Asmus, Harp
Elizabeth Etters Asmus is a professional musician with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in harp performance from The Juilliard School. She has recently received her certification as a Music Practitioner under the auspices of the Music for Healing and Transition Program, the only program of its kind to be accredited by the National Standards Board for Therapeutic Musicians. Asmus is Adjunct Professor of Harp at Dickinson, Gettysburg, and Messiah colleges. She performs as soloist, chamber, and ensemble musician with many organizations in central Pennsylvania. Her work as solo accompanist for the Rooke Chapel Choir of Bucknell University has resulted in two recordings and five PBS broadcasts, one of which was nominated for an Emmy. Asmus arranges music for solo harp and harp and flute. Her two volumes of Christmas Carols have been accepted for publication by Afgan Press.
David Cover, Organ
David Cover graduated from Bucknell University in 1984 with a B.A. in Music and Chemistry. He went on to study at Peabody Conservatory and graduated with a M.M. in piano performance in 1986. In 1989 he returned to Bucknell, becoming the organist for the Chapel Choir and Opera Company, as well as the accompanist for the Concert Chorale.
Cover also accompanies numerous student recitals, auditions and juries. Additionally, he teaches piano privately and enjoys playing jazz.
Carlos Kearns, Reader
Carlos Kearns is Principal of CTK Global, an international education consulting group currently working in the UK, US, Canada and Brazil creating university alliances. Kearns served in the US Foreign Commercial Service, was Director of International Trade and Protocol for Governor Christine Todd Whitman in New Jersey, and had senior management experience with the Allegheny Conference and the University of Pittsburgh. He is a member of the National Arts Club in New York and serves on the board of the Middlecreek Area Community Center.
