Susquehanna Chorale To Present 2024 Candlelight Christmas Concerts

The Susquehanna Chorale, a nationally acclaimed adult chamber ensemble of 41 auditioned singers, will present its Candlelight Christmas concert series on Dec. 13-15, under the direction of Linda L. Tedford.

Performances are scheduled for Friday, Dec. 13 at the Elizabethtown Church of the Brethren, Elizabethtown, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 14 at the Calvin and Janet High Center for Performing Arts, Messiah University, 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 15 at Market Square Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg, 4 p.m.

 This year’s Candlelight Christmas concerts celebrate the season with holiday music, including settings of traditional carols. To honor the late choral legend, Alice Parker, the Chorale will feature her arrangements of O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Bring a Torch, Jeannette Isabella, The Friendly Beasts, and Angels We Have Heard on High. The program also includes stunning brass accompaniment to Jeffery Ames’, Gloria Fanfare, Glenn Rudolph’s The Dream Isaiah Saw, Richard Dirksen’s Welcome All Wonders and Dan Forrest’s sing-along favorite, Festival First Noel.

A pre-concert recital by Susquehanna Chorale accompanist, Daniel L. Dorty and guest artists, The Messiah University Brass, will be presented 15 minutes prior to each performance.

Visit www.susquehannachorale.org/performances or call the Messiah University Box Office at 717-691-6036, option 1, for tickets and information. In-person and Livestream ticket options are available. Group discounts are offered for 10 or more tickets purchased at the same time.

The Susquehanna Chorale is a recipient of Chorus America’s most prestigious award, the Margaret Hillis Achievement Award for Choral Excellence and several of the Chorale’s recordings have been considered for GRAMMY nomination. In 2020, the Susquehanna Chorale tied for second place in the Community Chorus Division of The American Prize Competition, which recognizes and rewards the best performers, ensembles, and composers in the United States.

Conductor Tedford has been honored by the American Choral Directors Association of Pennsylvania with the Elaine Brown Award for lifelong commitment to excellence and leadership in the choral art. She has also received Theatre Harrisburg’s Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts in the Capital Region.  In 2022 Tedford was the recipient of the Central Penn Journal’s Circle of Excellence Award. 

The Chorale is supported in part by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Christmas concerts are sponsored by the Anne M. and Philip H. Glatfelter III Family Foundation and American Products, Inc.