Chorale and Chamber Orchestra to present holiday concert

The University Chorale and Chamber Orchestra join forces to present a holiday-themed concert at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 9, in the Belk Theater of the Robinson Hall for the Performing Arts. Randy Haldeman, director of choral studies, will conduct.

The Dec. 9 program will open with a piece for chamber orchestra alone, conducted by music student Faith Foster, who is one of two students in the Department of Music’s conducting mentorship program. The piece “March of the Little Lead Soldiers” is by French composer Gabriel Pierné.

The centerpiece of the concert is the “Midnight Mass for Christmas” by 17th-century French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier, a five-part work that follows the traditional sacred mass structure. The concert ends with a 20th-century musical plea for peace on earth (“In Terra Pax”) by British composer Gerald Finzi.

All ensembles in the Department of Music are open to participation by students from across the campus. Both the University Chorale and the Chamber Orchestra are by audition.

Tickets to the concert are $8 and can be purchased at the Robinson Hall Box Office, by phone at 704-687-1849 or online.