ISU Chamber Choir Holiday Concert set for Nov. 30

The ISU Children’s Choir Select Choir, under the direction of Sarah Davids, will be featured as a special guest at this year’s concert.

The Chamber Choir will perform Jan Sandstöm’s errangement of “Er ist ein Ros entsprungen” (Lo, how a rose ‘ere blooming), “Gloria” from the Lutheran Mass in G minor by Johann Sebastian Bach and the haunting setting of “Balulalow” by Francis Pott with Rebecca Orr, soprano soloist.

The choir will continue will Jonathan Dove’s double choir setting of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “Ring Out, Wild Bells!” featuring Natalia Lauk, pianist, and Kirby Shaw’s arrangement of “The Christmas Song” with Sophie Behling, mezzo soprano soloist.

The 24-voice ISU Chamber Choir is conducted by Scott Anderson, director of music and director of choral activities in the ISU Department of Music. The choir toured the British Isles in 2016 and was selected to perform at the Northwest Region of the American Choral Directors Association in March 2018.

The Select Choir is a small group of auditioned singers taken from the ISU Children’s Chorus, which consists of students in the third through eighth grades. Students in the Select Choir are  fifth through eighth graders only. The ISU Children's Chorus was established in 1987 and has had a rich history of quality choral music over the last 30 years. In addition, the ISU Children's Chorus has performed with the ISU Symphony on two occasions for the annual Joy to the World concerts at Christmas time, singing with the ISU Choirs under the direction of Anderson. The Select Choir was recently chosen to perform at the Idaho Music Educators Association statewide conference held Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 in Rexburg.

Davids is in her 10th year of directing the ISU Children’s Chorus. For the past nine years she had the joy of co-directing with her mother, Becky Moore, who retired last spring. Davids was also a member of the ISU Children’s Chorus as a child, with her mother as the director. She received her Bachelor of Music Education degree from ISU with an emphasis in voice, where she studied with Kathleen Lane and Diana Livingston Friedley and sang in choirs under the direction of Anderson. She has 14 years of music education teaching experience, including junior high and high school choir, elementary music and private voice lessons in Yakima, Washington.  

Admission to the concert is a suggested donation of $5 per person or $10 per family (two or more people).