“20 Years of Christmas” the Park Avenue Congregational Church’s
Annual Christmas Concert and Carol Sing
By Kathleen Fink
The PACC Concert Series is pleased to present a concert celebrating “20 Years of Christmas,” on Sunday, December 5th at 3pm (doors will open at 2:30). This event will be held in the Sanctuary of the Park Avenue Congregational Church, located at 50 Paul Revere Road, in Arlington Heights. Following the concert, an array of home-baked Christmas treats, cider, coffee and tea, will be available in the Parish Hall. Donations will be taken in lieu of tickets with all proceeds to benefit the Church’s Music Program Fund.
Participating will be the Festival Choir which includes the PACC Chancel choir, others in the PACC congregation and friends of PACC who enjoy this opportunity to sing. The PACC Youth Choir will also perform. Choral solos and instrumental selections are part of the festivities. As always, there will be ample opportunity for the audience to sing traditional carols.
Some of us have been known to sing Christmas carols in August, but somehow “Coventry Carol” does not sound quite right when it is hot out. Of all the holidays, Christmas has rich layers of memories and associations, including, for those of us in New England, cold December weather. It is a time of year to honor traditions including special music and food and gathering together. Please join us in honoring 20 years of Christmas concerts at the Park Avenue Congregational Church as this is a wonderful way to take a break from all those holiday preparations: to pause and appreciate and share.
It was difficult making selections from 20 years of Christmas concerts from ‘Visions of Sugarplums,” to “Christmas Music through the Centuries.” You can be sure there will be popular carols such as “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” and “Carol of the Bells;” ancient favorites such as “O Magnum Mysterium;” as well as classical masterworks by Bach, Vivaldi and Handel. The concert will also include some American spirituals: “I Wonder as I Wander” and “Go Tell It on the Mountain.” Everyone can sing along for such carols as “Once in Royal David’s City,” and “Silent Night.”
The PACC Concert Series is a benefit concert series to fund the Organ Restoration and Music Program at the Park Avenue Congregational Church. It was started twenty years ago when the Music Committee undertook the task of restoring the Church’s historic Skinner organ. Local talent is showcased in a wide range of styles from classical vocal and instrumental music, to folk and jazz coffeehouses.
For more information on the PACC Concert Series, please call the Church Office at 781-643-8680 or visit the Church’s website at www.pacc-ucc.org/events/concertseries. Most days, the Church office is closed in the afternoon, but messages may be left on the Church’s answering machine. The Church is located on the corner of Park Avenue and Paul Revere Road (one block from Mass. Avenue in Arlington Heights), is handicapped-accessible and on MBTA bus route 77.