Press Release - November 20, 2005, Boston, MA

CELEBRATE A JOYOUS “CHRISTMAS IN BOSTON”
WITH BACK BAY CHORALE AND BOSTON CHILDREN’S CHORUS

Back Bay Chorale will be joined this holiday season for the first time by Greater Boston's "ambassadors of harmony," the acclaimed Boston Children’s Chorus. The two choral groups will present a weekend-long holiday concert December 17 and 18 at historic Faneuil Hall and Boston University's Marsh Chapel featuring favorite seasonal works and the Chorale's performance of Benjamin Britten's "Ceremony of Carols." A combined total of over 170 voices will share the stage with the Majestic Brass Quintet as part of this feel-good holiday concert.

Now in its 33nd season, Back Bay Chorale is one of the premier amateur choruses performing in Greater Boston, offering innovative choral programming from Baroque to Contemporary in a season of four concerts. Music Director Scott Allen Jarrett has already won plaudits for the Chorale with his presentation of Schuman's "Paradise and the Peri" last May.

The Boston Children's Chorus is a new idea on the Boston landscape - a multi-racial, multi-cultural arts organization that brings together a diverse group of children grades 2-12 from urban and suburban neighborhoods, schools, religious institutions, and community organizations to discover the power of singing together and serve as ambassadors for their city.

More on Benjamin Britten’s “Ceremony of Carols”: In the spring of 1942, Britten had left his British homeland for America as a conscientious objector during the early, tumultuous days of World War II, but his patriotism ultimately overshadowed his pacifism. In a perilous five-week crossing of the North Atlantic, Britten later returned home and, under the threat of enemy fire, wrote a Christmas masterpiece of unparalleled optimism and innocence. In recognition of the global turmoil that suffuses today’s holiday season, we come together to sing a message of peace.

Full details are available at http://www.bbcboston.org/