Community Calendar

The Greater Freeport Community Chorus will present “Sing Joy! Contemporary Settings of Traditional Carols” Dec. 14 and 15 at Cumberland and Brunswick.
The 70-voice chorus will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, at the Congregational Church in Cumberland, 282 Main St., and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15, at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 1 Middle St., Brunswick. The group is directed by Virgil Bozeman IV and accompanied by pianist Kellie Moody.
Among the dozen pieces to be performed are such traditional Christmas favorites as “In the Bleak Midwinter,” “Joy to the World” and “Jingle Bells” – but all with a twist.
“In the Bleak Midwinter” is a carol based on a poem by Christina Rossetti, published in 1872 and first set to music in a 1906 hymnal, but the setting the chorus will perform is a nontraditional one composed by Michael John Trotta. Chorus soprano Katie Sullivan will accompany on flute, accenting fragments of the melody.
“Joy to the World,” a much loved carol with lyrics written by Isaac Watts in 1719, is an arrangement published only this year by the pseudonymous Pinkzebra. David Blackwell’s arrangement of “Jingle, bells” is a rollicking twist on another favorite.
Guest bassoonist David Joseph will accompany on “A Ketterling Carol,” a setting of a Sara Teasdale poem. Two Hebrew pieces are on the program, including “S’Vivon,” a Betty Bertaux arrangement of a traditional song celebrating the Hanukkah dreidel.
The program ends with a suite of carols from “The Many Moods of Christmas,” with the audience invited to sing along.
Residents of about 20 Midcoast towns make up the Greater Freeport Community Chorus.
Concert admission is $10 for adults, free to anyone under 18. Tickets may be purchased at the door. Visit the chorus on Facebook or at www.gfccsings.org for more information.

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