Group marks 40th anniversary with concert
CARIBOU, Maine — The 60-voice Caribou Choral Society will present its annual Christmas concerts starting this Sunday in Madawaska, with performances next weekend in Presque Isle and Caribou.
The group is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year under the leadership of conductor Dan Ladner, and invites the public to attend one or all of the shows.
Performances will take place Sunday, Dec. 4, at 3 p.m. at St. Thomas Church in Madawaska; Friday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. at St. Mary’s Church in Presque Isle; and Saturday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. at the Holy Rosary Church in Caribou.
“Entitled ‘40 Years of Favorites,’ the program will consist of exactly that,” said Ladner. “Excitement filled the air during the final rehearsals.”
Ladner said he and accompanist Mari-Jo Hedman had difficulty narrowing down hundreds of titles to a reasonable 18 of the chorus’s “old chestnuts.”
Selections will include: “Prepare Ye” from Godspell; “O Holy Night” with Jayne Shaw as soloist; “Mary, Did you Know”; “Gesu Bambino” with Teresa Herold as contralto soloist; “Somewhere in My Memory” from the movie “Home Alone,” accompanied by a bell choir; a blues arrangement of “Silent Night” featuring Anna Scheidler as soloist; and “Angels We Have Heard on High,” arranged by Mack Wilberg, conductor of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
The concert’s second half will consist of lighter, more popular Christmas songs such as: “It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas”; “Sleigh Ride”; “Silver Bells”; “Winter Wonderland”; “White Christmas”; and “Northern Maine Christmas” by Cathie Pelletier. The concerts will end with the well-known “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s “Messiah,” with audience members familiar with the singing parts invited to join in.
The concerts are free, but the society will take a goodwill offering at the end of the evening.
