SUNBURY - The Susquehanna Valley Chorale and Orchestra, the region's premiere choral singing group with more than 100 auditioned members, will perform John Rutter's "Magnificat" and "The Rutter Carols - O Holy Night" at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with a pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m., and 3 p.m. Sunday, with a pre-concert talk at 2:15 p.m., at Zion Lutheran Church in Sunbury. William Payn is music director and conductor.
Arrangements of some of the best-loved Christmas carols and hymns will be featured, including: "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," "Good Christian Men Rejoice," "Away in a Manger," O" Holy Night," Hark! the Herald Angels Sing," "Angels, from the Realms of Glory" and "Joy to the World." John Rutter's "Magnificat," which will also be performed, was first presented in 1990 in Carnegie Hall in New York.
Soloist Jill Gardner will return to perform in "Magnificat" and "O Holy Night." A frequent soloist with the chorale, Gardner has been heard over the past five seasons.
All music for this holiday concert was composed or arranged by Rutter. Rutter is one of England's best-known composers of the late 20th century, as well as a widely respected choral conductor, music scholar and editor.