MACON, Ga. – Mercer University’s Townsend School of Music welcomes the holiday season with several choral and instrumental concerts, many of which are free of charge. For more information, call (478) 301-5751, or visit music.mercer.edu.
‘Festive Flutes’ Starts Flurry of Christmas Concerts
The Mercer Flute Choir recently began its concert season with a performance in Atlanta. Under the direction of Kelly Via, this ensemble has enjoyed success at the national level. Get into the holiday spirit with this sprightly group at “Festive Flutes,” a concert that celebrates works composed for the flute, on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m., in Fickling Hall. Admission is free and open to the public.
Sing and Rejoice with Mercer Children’s Choirs
The Mercer University Children’s Choirs, a Townsend outreach program, will perform its annual Christmas concert – “Sing and Rejoice!” – on Friday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m., in the sanctuary of Mulberry Street United Methodist Church, located at 719 Mulberry St. in downtown Macon. This unique concert will include beloved Christmas carols, traditional song arrangements and 21st-century music for children’s voices. Professional musicians from Middle Georgia and students from the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings will accompany the choirs in this joyful and appealing musical celebration. For more information, call (478) 301-5751. Admission to the concert is $10 per person. All funds received will be used to support the Mercer University Children’s Choir Scholarship Fund.
Annual Favorite Festival of Carols Moves to St. Joseph to Accommodate Growing Attendance
For years, Central Georgia concertgoers have enjoyed the Festival of Carols, an annual concert by the Mercer Singers under the direction of Dr. Stanley L. Roberts. This year, the event is elevated with the addition of the Mercer Women’s Choir, brass instrumentalists and a grand new venue: St. Joseph Catholic Church, located in historic downtown Macon. Enjoy this free concert, a gift to the community, on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 7:30 p.m. This event is well suited for families, including children who are old enough to sit through church. (Parents and grandparents are encouraged to be the judge of that!)
McDuffie String Student Solos Concert Serves as Great Introduction to Internationally-Renowned Program
The Robert McDuffie Center for Strings presents a concert of student solos in Fickling Hall on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 3 p.m. This is a great chance to experience some of the world’s top young string musicians, including cellist SiHao He, who won the Third Gaspar Cassado International Violoncello Competition in Japan last week. These young musicians from around the world will soon command three- and four-digit ticket prices in their professional careers. This Sunday matinee is also a wonderful opportunity to expose mature children to classical music. Admission is free and open to the public.
Choral Society Presents Annual Performance of Handel’s Messiah at St. Joseph
Milburn Price, former national president of the American Choral Directors’ Association, conducts the Choral Society in its annual performance of Handel’s masterwork, The Messiah, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, located at 830 Poplar St., on Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 at the door. For more information, call (478) 747-6684.
New York’s Masterworks Chamber Ensemble Performs Encore Concert for McDuffie Fabian Concert Series
Fresh from a performance at New York’s Masterworks chamber music series, clarinetist Todd Palmer joins a quartet of string musicians – Amy Schwartz Moretti, violin; Aaron Boyd, violin; Dimitri Murrath, viola; and Edward Arron, cello – for an encore concert at Mercer’s Fickling Hall on Thursday, Dec. 12, at 7:30 p.m. The program includes Dvorák’s Miniatures for Two Violins and Viola; David Bruce’s Gumboots for Clarinet and String Quartet (2008); Gershwin’s Lullaby for String Quartet; and Mozart’s Quintet in A Major for Clarinet and Strings. This concert is part of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings Fabian Concert Series. Tickets are $12 for adults. Students from any school and Mercer faculty and staff are admitted free with I.D. For tickets, call (478) 301-5470, or they may be purchased at the door. Seating is limited.
About Townsend School of Music
Mercer University’s Townsend School of Music, the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings and the Townsend-McAfee Institute for Graduate Studies offer undergraduate and graduate professional music studies in a comprehensive university environment. Townsend is nationally recognized for its outstanding faculty, award-winning students, performance ensembles and state-of-the-art facilities. The McDuffie Center, a special institute within Townsend School of Music, is a highly selective program that prepares string students for success in the real world. Students study with some of America’s most renowned string musicians, receiving music instruction of conservatory quality, while earning an academically well-rounded education from a comprehensive, nationally recognized university. For more information and a complete listing of this season’s concerts, visit music.mercer.edu, or call (478) 301-5751.
J. Cindy Hill
(478) 301-2933
hill_c@mercer.edu
Kyle Sears
(478) 301-4037
sears_k@mercer.edu
