Mines Music brings in the Christmas cheer

The Mines Music program started the Holiday season off right this year, with a rousing concert featuring many of the most beloved Christmas songs. Featuring performances by the orchestra, choir, the Madrigal Singers, the Sweet Adelines, men’s barbershop, and the concert band, the annual Christmas concert is the culmination of months of practice and hard work coming to fruition for one amazing occasion.

The strings opened the show with four movements of a traditional piece by Gustav Holst, called St. Peter’s Suite. The Madrigal Singers led the Concert Choir with an excellent performance of two lesser-known Christmas choral arrangements. With the concert well under way, the CSM Concert Choir came on to tickle the senses with a magnificent performance with a collection of old-English Christmas hymns. The Hallelujah chorus from Handel’s Messiah served as the grand finale to the choir’s performance, with a soulful interpretation by Michael Jackson. With the choir clapping and dancing the whole time, it’s difficult to prevent prevent a smile from creeping across your face.

The Mines Concert Band brought down the house with a thundering performance of Carol of the Bells, and then proceeded lighten the mood with a head-bobbing rendition of A Charlie Brown Christmas. If this did not get you in the Christmas spirit, then you may be visited by three Christmas spirits tonight. All of those in the audience more advanced in years were encouraged to sing along as the band performed Christmas Music of the 50’s with vocal performances by two star choir soloists.

Music director Bob Klimek had something up his sleeve for the rest of the night, as he proceeded over to the newly reinstalled Green Center organ named ‘Black Beauty.’ As Klimek began to tickle the ivories with various traditional and not-so-traditional Christmas tunes, various members of the men’s barbershop group began to lead the audience in a Christmas sing-a-long, complete with “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Frosty the Snowman,” and “Let It Snow.” The barbershop group then performed an oddly satisfying, politically correct version of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

To end the night with one final hurrah, the band and choir joined together to lead the audience in a medley of every one’s favorite old Christmas tunes: “Jingle Bells,” “Deck the Halls,” “Silent Night,” and to finish it all off, “We Wish you a Merry Christmas,” traditional politically-incorrect style. This years’ Seasonal Sing was a wonderful success, and a great way to finish the semester and start the holiday season!