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“It’s become something of a tradition,” said Kate Walsh, who helps to organize the St. John’s Concert Series. The series includes the Pro Musica performance. “There are people who come every year to hear the choir sing at the outset of the holiday season.”
And maybe the best part is that the concert is offered by donation, so it’s accessible to all.
“Tickets in Seattle are $35 a pop,” Walsh said. “It’s very high-quality music.”
The concert attracts about 375 people, series organizer Kary Hyre estimated. That pretty much fills the church, which holds 400.
“It’s by far our biggest event,” Walsh said. “It’s always packed.”
The show is so popular that even snow doesn’t stop intrepid lovers of choral music. A group of students from Shelton High School came to Olympia for last year’s concert.
“It was snowy that night,” Walsh recalls. “These kids came tumbling in. They had rosy cheeks, and their hair was full of snow. They had piled into a car on the spur of the moment.”
Conductor Karen P. Thomas, impressed with the students’ dedication, invited them to sing with the choir in Seattle. “Some of those students performed with us at our concert in March as part our education and outreach program,” Thomas said.
The choir performs at Town Hall in Seattle as well as traveling to other Western Washington cities for concerts such as Sunday’s, called “Illuminare: Winter Lights.”
“Because it falls a little bit early for a holiday concert, we’re not focusing it towards the Christmas season,” Thomas said. “There are many things that tie into the theme of light, and there are a few things that are more Christmas-specific.”
The choir, which has twice come in second place for The American Prize and has several times received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, has more Christmas music to come at December concerts in Seattle and on its latest recording, “In Dulci Jubilo,” which will be for sale at Sunday’s concert.
One highlight of Sunday’s program is Charles Villiers Stanford’s “Magnificat,” written for double choir. That means that instead of singing in four parts (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), the choir will be divided and will sing in eight parts. “They sometimes answer back and forth and sometimes they sing together,” she said.
“There are things in the writing that hark back to the writing of J.S. Bach, but the harmonies are much more lush and romantic,” Thomas said. “It’s a great piece, really kind of a tour de force for the choir.”
See the show
What: The highly acclaimed Seattle Pro Musica makes its annual November visit to Olympia for a festive winter concert, “Illuminare: Winter Lights,” part of the St. John’s Concert Series.
When: 3 p.m. Sunday
Where: St. John’s Episcopal Church, 114 20th Ave. S.E., Olympia
Admission: By donation
More information: 360-352-8527 or stjohnsoly.org or seattlepromusica.org
Also: Child care is available during the concert, and there’s a reception afterward with a chance to meet the artists.
