PORT TOWNSEND — The Wild Rose Chorale will present holiday concerts at 7 p.m. Friday and at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Both concerts will be performed at Trinity United Methodist Church, 609 Taylor St., Port Townsend.
Admission is by a $20 suggested donation.
The a cappella ensemble will perform a variety of quirky but familiar Christmas songs, winter melodies and even some tunes without lyrics.
“Sure, there are some of the traditional favorites, usually with a twist, but we are featuring some interesting choices this time,” said Cheuck Helman, a tenor and longtime ensemble member.
“I’ve been singing Christmas concerts in different groups for more than 25 years, and still I am amazed at the music I have never heard before,” added bass Doug Rodgers.
“The songs represent an amazing variety, everything from a jazzy ‘Jingle Bell Rock,’ to the lush ‘Spotless Rose,’ to a wordless, energetic number called ‘Pulse,’” said Leslie Lewis, the director. “It’s fun to be on the cutting edge of presenting scores published in 2024.”
The singers also will perform “Gloria,” published earlier this year by a 22-year-old senior at the University of North Texas.
They also will perform a medley of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker,” a classical piece most audiences will recognize.
Although Wild Rose usually performs without instruments, Ruth Kittleson, on harp, and Otto Smith, on concertina, will accompany one song, and they will be joined by a bell choir on a 2024 version of “I Heard the Bells.”
