Dolce Canto performs holiday concerts in Missoula and St. Ignatius
Dolce Canto, Missoula’s premier choral ensemble, presents two performances of “Stars Over Snow,” Dec. 10 in Missoula and Dec. 11 in St. Ignatius.
The Missoula concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at St. Anthony Parish, 217 Tremont. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at Fact & Fiction, Rockin’ Rudy’s, or via the choir’s website at www.Dolce.Canto.info. Concerts are frequently sold out. Special guests for this concert are the Frenchtown High School Chamber Chorale and members of the school’s Percussion Ensemble, directed by Troy Bashor.
There will be a second performance at 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, at the St. Ignatius Mission, 300 Bear Track Ave., St. Ignatius. A donation of $15 for adults and $10 for students is suggested; a portion of the proceeds will help restore the historic Mission.
This concert offers a musical meditation on stars. For as long as humankind has been gazing at the night sky, we have been enchanted by their glistening light. Ancient people looked upon stars as gods and created legends about them.
Modern Christianity continues to utilize the star as a key icon in its Christmas story. Stars can provide guidance, both literally and metaphorically, as well as symbolize wonderment (“as infinite as the stars”), self-fulfillment (“reach for the stars”), aspirations of greatness (“be a superstar”), hope (“stars in our eyes”), and good fortune (“if the stars align”).
Their great distance from us puts our own mortality in perspective, while their brightness can be associated with enlightenment.
Dolce Canto invites audiences to contemplate the significance of stars with them this holiday season and remain fascinated by their eternal mysteries. The 2014 CD, A Joyful Season, will be available for purchase at both concerts.
Dolce Canto is an auditioned, non-profit choral ensemble founded in 2001. It exists to enrich the lives of its members and audiences by performing exceptional and diverse choral music with compelling artistry and sensitivity.
The group was invited to sing in New York’s Carnegie Hall in 2013, is the 2014 recipient of the prestigious Dale Warland Singers Commission Award, and has released two CDs. Most recently the group toured South Korea in April 2016.
For more information, visit www.DolceCanto.info.