Idaho State Civic Symphony ‘Joy to the World’ Christmas concert set Dec. 11-12

POCATELLO – The Idaho State Civic Symphony, joining with the Camerata Singers and the Idaho State University Choirs, will present the “Joy to the World: an ISU Christmas” concert at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11 and 12 in the ISU Stephens Performing Arts Center’s Jensen Grand Concert Hall.

The holiday concert will feature traditional favorites to celebrate the season. It is co-sponsored by the J.R. Simplot Company, Idaho Central Credit Union and Rotary Club of Pocatello.

Guests can arrive early to meet with friends in the Marshal Rotunda, savor the ambience of the special Christmas decorations, and enjoy snacks, desserts and beverages available for purchase before the concert. Kappa Kappa Psi, the ISU music fraternity, will provide pre-concert musical entertainment from 6:30-7 p.m. Doors to the Jensen Grand Concert Hall will open at 7 p.m.

On both Friday and Saturday, Kappa Kappa Psi tables will collect canned food donations for the local Idaho Food Bank and for monetary contributions for donation to Bannock Youth Foundation.

The concert will open with “O Come O Come Emmanuel,” a piece picked to set the tone for the evening, as vocalists will enter the hall in a candlelit processional. The orchestra and chorus will then perform “O Come All Ye Faithful,” followed by Part I of Mendelssohn’s “Christus” This portion, “Die Geburt Christi” (“The Birth of Christ”) of Mendelssohn’s unfinished oratorio, demonstrates his skill in the blending of vocal and orchestral music.

Next, Hely-Hutchinson’s “Carol Symphony,” an orchestral arrangement intertwining familiar Christmas carols, will be performed. The first half of the concert will conclude with choirs and orchestra performing “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”

After intermission, songs to be performed include Lee Melendez’s 1965 holiday television special-based songs from the Peanuts comic strip of Charles Schultz. David Pugh’s medley of tunes from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” will evoke memories of those lovable characters.

A change of pace is provided with Franz Biebl’s 1964 choral arrangement of “Ave Maria.” The piece begins with a quiet Gregorian chant, and then as additional voices join in, the music soars and rises, then fades to a peaceful end.

The concert continues with several familiar Christmas carols, progressing from the soft lullaby sounds of Henry Pfohl’s arrangement of the 16th-century English “Coventry Carol,” to the more lively French tune, Barlow Bradford’s “Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella” (Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabella), to the call to rejoice in John Rutter’s arrangement of Isaac Watt’s 18th-century work, “Joy to the World.” The evening’s traditional finale, Richard Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride,” will complete the concert.

Tickets are available at the Stephens Performing Arts Center Box Office, Vickers Western Store, or online at www.isu.edu/stephens. Ticket prices are $34 per adult, $18 for students through high school and $12 for third-tier balcony. A limited number of $18 rush tickets (seating in Rows T-CC assigned by the Box Office as available) will be sold after 7 p.m. concert night. All prices are subject to additional Box Office fees and credit card charges. ISU students with valid Bengal cards are admitted free, up to a maximum 150.

Contact the ISU Box Office at 282-3595 or Vickers Western Store, 1460 Yellowstone, Pocatello or phone 237-5700 for tickets and information.