Master Chorale Holiday Concert Includes New Work by Young Raleigh Composer

This preview was provided by the North Carolina Master Chorale.

The North Carolina Master Chorale will present their annual holiday program, Joy of the Season, on Tuesday, December 8 in Meymandi Concert Hall, Raleigh. The 7:30PM concert features both the 170- voice symphonic chorus and the 20- voice professional chamber choir of the Master Chorale, under the direction of Music Director Alfred Sturgis. The Master Chorale ensembles will be accompanied by chamber orchestra and piano. The Enloe High School Chamber Choir will perform several selections on the program and join the Master Chorale ensembles for “Joy to the World.”

The concert program includes works from old to new, including classical excerpts, new and familiar carol arrangements, and A Charlie Brown Christmas suite. The NCMC Chamber Choir will premiere a new carol by Raleigh-born composer Shane Dittmar, “Annunciation to the Shepherds.” Dittmar, a graduate of Sanderson High School, is a student at UNC-Greensboro.

To order tickets, call the North Carolina Master Chorale office at (919) 856-9700 or TicketMaster at (800) 745-3000.  For more information, call the NCMC office or visit www.ncmasterchorale.org.

The North Carolina Master Chorale

One of the major choral organizations of the Southeast, the North Carolina Master Chorale has been performing choral-orchestral masterworks for more than 70 years. Under the direction of Alfred E. Sturgis since 1993, the Master Chorale presents a diverse repertoire from the Renaissance to Contemporary with ensembles ranging from 16-voices to 170-voices. Our singers, selected by audition, bring a collective wealth of training and experience. The Master Chorale regularly collaborates with symphony orchestras, opera companies, ballet and touring productions. Music Director and conductor Sturgis holds multiple degrees in music and performed with Robert Shaw in the U.S. and Europe. In addition to the Master Chorale, Maestro Sturgis serves as Music Director for the Carolina Ballet and the Tar River Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2015, the Master Chorale was named Resident Chorus of the North Carolina Symphony. Founded as the Raleigh Oratorio Society in 1942, Master Chorale has evolved into a major regional performing arts group that works with over 250 artist-musicians each season, reaching an annual audience of over 10,000 choral arts enthusiasts.