St. Charles Singers Bringing String Ensemble To CANDLELIGHT CAROLS In December

For the 40th anniversary edition of its Candlelight Carols program, the St. Charles Singers and its founder and artistic director Jeffrey Hunt will be joined by the Metropolis String Ensemble.

The acclaimed mixed-voice chamber choir and 11-member string ensemble will perform December 6, 2024, in Wheaton, Illinois, and December 7 and 8 in St. Charles.

"Strings will bring an extra touch of holiday magic to the beguiling sounds of our choir and the enchanting melodies of the songs," Hunt says.

Concertgoers will hear the St. Charles Singers' first performances of Francis Poulenc's "Quatre motets pour le temps de Noël," Mitchell B. Southall's "In Silent Night," Sofia Soderberg's arrangement of "Noel Nouvelet," and Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Fantasia on Christmas Carols," one of the program's five works scored for choir and strings.

Concerts will open and close with singers positioned around three sides of the hall for a "surround-sound" performance of African American composer Southall's "In Silent Night" and the choir's traditional finale, "Silent Night," Hunt says.

Southall subtitled his piece "A Christmas Vignette in Pastel." Hunt calls it "a lovely, gentle, deceptively simple song with a jazz feel."

Poulenc's hauntingly beautiful motet cycle paints four colorful scenes from the Nativity story with music evoking awe, mystery, and joy. Hunt will alternate the motets with songs that elaborate on the Nativity scenes. These include John Rutter's "Nativity Carol," Harold Darke's "In the Bleak Midwinter," and David Willcocks' "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day."

Hunt describes Vaughan Williams' "Fantasia" as "a memorable medley of some of the season's most special tunes."

In a nod to the St. Charles Singers' four decades of music making, Hunt has included Malcolm Sargent's "Zither Carol," based on a Czech folk tune with words by the composer, which the ensemble sang in one of its earliest Christmas programs.

Also on tap are Rutter's "What Sweeter Music," Carolyn Jennings' arrangement of "Fum, Fum, Fum," whose title evokes drumbeats, and George Frideric Handel's "For Unto Us a Child is Born" from his "Messiah."

Audiences will hear "Silent Night" with the first two verses arranged by England's Willcocks, the third arranged for the St. Charles Singers by esteemed local choral director, composer, and educator Robert Boyd of Westmont, Illinois.

"Our holiday program," Hunt says, "will be brimming with music that evokes the warmth, peace, and joy of the season."

Hunt says this year's Candlelight Carols concerts hold special significance. The St. Charles Singers made its debut in December 1984 as the Mostly Madrigal Singers, a small ensemble of Hunt's vocally talented friends and family members. Their coming-out Christmas concert at the Hotel Baker in downtown St. Charles was a fundraiser for the Salvation Army. The ensemble made a successful debut, but with a box-office fumble. "I proceeded to lose the $400 we raised before we could give it to the charity," Hunt recalls. "My dad loaned me the $400 to settle up, and I paid him back - if I recall correctly."

Concerts are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday, December 6, at St. Michael Catholic Church, 310 S. Wheaton Ave. Wheaton; and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, December 7, and 3 p.m. Sunday, December 8, at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, 307 Cedar Avenue, St. Charles.

Single-admission tickets are $45 for adults, $40 for seniors 65 and older, and $12 for students. Group discounts are available.

Tickets and information are available at stcharlessingers.com or by calling 630-513-5272. Tickets are also available at Townhouse Books, 105 N. Second Ave., St. Charles (checks or cash only at this ticket venue). Tickets may also be purchased at the door on the day of the concert, depending on availability.

The St. Charles Singers soprano section will include Jeanne Fornari, Kristen Murray, and Karen Rockett of Batavia; Ingrid Burrichter, Chicago; Kelly Johnson, Crystal Lake; Marybeth Kurnat, DeKalb; Laura Johnson, Hanover Park; Meredith Taylor Mollica, Naperville; and AnDréa James and Cynthia Spiegel, St. Charles.

Altos are Valerie Bollero and Margaret Fox, Batavia; Bridget Kancler, Chicago; Jennifer Gingrich and Rachel Miller, Naperville; Bethany Brewer, Palos Heights; Debby Wilder, Vernon Hills; and Karen Archbold, Wheaton.

Tenors are Marcus Jansen, Batavia; Robert Campbell, DeKalb; Bradley Staker, Elburn; Nicholas Metzger, Elgin; Stephen Mollica, Naperville; Gregor King, North Aurora; David Hunt, Wayne; and Steve Williamson, West Chicago.

Bass singers are Brandon Fox, Batavia; Nathan Coon, Crystal Lake; Jess Koehn, Downers Grove; David Hartley, Hanover Park, Michael Popplewell, North Aurora; Antonio Quaranta, River Grove; Aaron James, St. Charles; and Michael Costello, Wheaton.

Organist is Stephen Uhl of Glen Ellyn.

Founded and directed by Jeffrey Hunt, the St. Charles Singers is a chamber choir dedicated to choral music in all its forms. Hailed by American Record Guide as "a national treasure," the mixed-voice ensemble includes professional singers, choral directors, and voice instructors, some of whom perform with other top-tier Chicago choirs. Classics Today has called the ensemble "one of North America's outstanding choirs," citing "charisma and top-notch musicianship" that "bring character and excitement to each piece." The Chicago Tribune has described the St. Charles Singers as "splendidly disciplined, beautifully responsive" and proclaimed, "Chamber chorus singing doesn't get much better than this." Among the St. Charles Singers' prominent guest conductors have been renowned English composer Sir John Rutter, founder of the Cambridge Singers; Philip Moore, composer and former music director at England's York Minster cathedral; and Grammy Award-winning American choir director Craig Hella Johnson. The choir launched in St. Charles, Illinois, in 1984 as the Mostly Madrigal Singers.

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