Christmas at Cathedral scheduled for Dec. 2

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
November 10, 2005

"What Sweeter Music" will be the theme of this year's Christmas at Cathedral at the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City on Dec. 2. The event is sponsored by the Cathedral Arts Guild.

"We wanted the Cathedral to be a place for the arts to flourish," said Sister Mary Day, OSF, a member of the Cathedral Arts Guild. "They also wanted it to be non-denominational."

The Briar Cliff University choirs, West High School Chamber Choirs and the Catholic School Youth Choir will gather to perform with an orchestra for the annual concert.

"Jan Miller and I have auditioned out of the Catholic grade schools - grades four, five and six - children to participate in a Catholic Schools Youth Choir," said Sister Mary Day, also a music professor at Briar Cliff. "The children come from all three schools - Sacred Heart, Mater Dei and Holy Cross. There are 20 of them, and they rehearse at Briar Cliff."

Briar Cliff's Dr. Sean Vogt, artistic director and conductor, Jean Busker and Christopher Miller of West High School and Jan Miller, director of the Youth Choir have prepared the choirs and will share conducting responsibilities.

The Cliff Carolers will greet people on the steps of the Cathedral singing traditional Christmas carols. The doors will open at 7 p.m. The orchestral prelude will start at 7:45 p.m. featuring the Jeoffrey Bush "Natus est Immanuel" and Prokofiev's "Troika."

The concert will begin at 8 p.m. with John Rutter's "What Sweeter Music" performed by the orchestra.

"The whole theme of the concert focuses on the really sweet music of the season," said Vogt. "That music can be bombastic, soft, loud, tender. All the adjectives that you can equate with Christmas are happening at this concert."

The Catholic Youth Choir will sing "Bring a Torch Jeaneatte, Isabella" and join soprano Anne Carroll to sing the Italian "Mille Cherubini in Coro" (A Choir of a Thousand Angels).

"They are learning Italian for that," said Sister Mary Day.

The West High School Chamber Choirs and Briar Cliff choirs will be featured in a variety of choral selections and end the evening with the Ralph Vaughan-Williams "Fantasia on Christmas Carols" featuring baritone soloist Aaron James from New York City.

Vogt explained that there will be selections performed by each group separately and then selections with the groups together.

According to Sister Mary Day, the program is similar style to last year's concert, but not the same music.

There will also be hymns for the audience to join in on including "Hark the Herald, Angels Sing" and "O, Come All Ye Faithful."

"I think the audiences like this," said Sister Mary Day. "I think it is exciting for the non-singer, the audience participant to be able to join an orchestra and sing a carol that they know."

Vogt pointed out that having the people join in "makes it less of a concert that way. Everyone is involved and it really feels more like a worship service." He added that the carols are familiar and ones that people know without having music in front of them.

"This is meant to be an experience in worship and praise," said Sister Mary Day. "Instead of a concert that just comes at you, a concert that involves a variety of emotions."

Cost for the evening is $15 per person and $10 for senior citizens and students. The tickets are available at Briar Cliff University, Cathedral of the Epiphany, Central Catholic Offices for the Diocese of Sioux City and West High School.

People wishing to attend the concert are encouraged to buy tickets in advance. All profits will be used by the Cathedral Arts Guild to sponsor future art events benefiting the Siouxland community.