Naperville Announces GLORIA Holiday Concert

One of the most noticeable spiritual institutions in Naperville, Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, is happy to announce its upcoming Christmas concert called "Gloria" that will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday, December 16.

"I hope that people who come to this concert not only enjoy the music that is performed, but also allow the music to lift their spirits to the reason of the season," said the Director of Music at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church Maestro Matthew Sprinkle. "We have been practicing a lot for this concert. Music is very challenging, but it is very rewarding at the same time."

Maestro Sprinkle noticed that this concert program is very important and meaningful for him. For several seasons in a row, Saints Peter and Paul presented Messiah during its Christmas concerts. This year is the first year when Saints Peter and Paul chose not to perform Messiah but to present a broader range of Christmas music instead. "We are proud to announce that Concerts at Saints Peter and Paul are in their Fourth Concert Season, and this time we want to bring people closer to each other by giving them a chance to sing-along with the choirs and the orchestra most of the concert," noticed Mr. Sprinkle. "We are incorporating more than usual Christmas carols to bring more people to the event and to help them feel more engaged and involved in this beautiful Christmas celebration. It will be a great experience for everyone!"

Under the baton of Maestro Matthew Sprinkle this performance will be unforgettable. Mr. Sprinkle puts all his time, soul and heart into conducting this exciting holiday program. All the choirs of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church will be involved in this beautiful celebration, including the Saints Peter and Paul Choir, Choral Scholars, and touching young performers from the School Choirs. Extremely talented Saints Peter and Paul Orchestra members are also excited to be part of this concert. Each musician, each singer and each person involved in preparing this beautiful celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ feels honored to be part of the most celebrated holiday in Naperville and puts a lot of hard work and time to make this concert unforgettable.

This concert will feature music written by British composer and conductor John Rutter. His epic choral work, Christmas masterpiece "Gloria", will impress the audience with the amplitude and joy of its first part, more reflective central section, and victorious sounds of the final section. Another beautiful composition by Rutter, "What Sweeter Music", will please every audience member with its tender sounds and words. "What sweeter music can we bring than a carol for to sing the birth of Christ, our heavenly King," it says. The combination of sincere and calm music and traditional carol text made this piece one of the composer's most cherished Christmas anthems. Rutter's beautiful choral work called "Angels' Carol", composed in 1980 on his own lyrics, is frequently associated with Christmas festivities in the United Kingdom. This piece will sound especially touching because children and adult singers will sing it together.

The concert program will also feature a Carol by Sir David Willcocks, who was a British choral conductor, organist and composer popular for his beautiful arrangements of carols. Willcocks did a beautiful arrangement of this piece for orchestra and congregation as well, and Saints Peter and Paul singers and musicians will be happy to demonstrate it to the public.

Besides that, the concert will present a touching piece called "Ave Maria" by talented American composer Morten Lauridsen. This composer also reworked a responsorial chant from the Matins of Christmas called "O Magnum Mysterium" into a contemporary setting, and Saints Peter and Paul Choirs will be delighted to perform it.

These are just a few pieces that will be featured that night at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church. The list of the names of the composers is long, but the theme of their compositions is the same -- the Birth of Christ. This beautiful Christmas celebration will take every member of the audience out of their earthly world and will bring them to a higher spiritual level.

That concert will also have a little intrigue -- it will be recorded for a television broadcast for a future date. When and where would you be able to watch it and maybe even see yourself in the audience? Come over to this spectacular concert and you will find out. The date, the time and the television channel will be disclosed that night. Concert tickets are $25 general admission, $12 for students, and $35 for prime preferred seating and a post-concert reception with the musicians. For more information and for tickets please call 630-718-2119, get them at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church located at 36 N. Ellsworth Street in Naperville, or visit http://www.sspeterandpaul.net/worship/concertseries/

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