EVENT: SIX CONTINENTS OF MUSIC TO CELEBRATE THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT (12/22)

                                                                                                                                              

Contact: Brady Allred, 801-824-5428

                                                                                                                                         brady.allred@saltlakechoralartists.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                                                          

February 15, 2013                                                                                                                                                                                 

SIX CONTINENTS OF MUSIC TO CELEBRATE THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

FIVE CHOIRS OF SALT LAKE CHORAL ARTISTS SING CAROLS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, INCLUDING WORLD PREMIERES

SALT LAKE CITY – The combined choirs of the Salt Lake Choral Artists invite you to celebrate the holiday season with them as they take you on a unique musical trip around the world.  Join them for their second concert of the season, “O Yule Full of Gladness,” on Saturday, December 22 in Libby Gardner Concert Hall at the University of Utah, with performances at 2:00 and 7:30 pm.

Whether you are travelling to Poland to experience Wigilia on Christmas Eve, to the Basque country to receive presents from Olentzero, or to the Philippines to carry a traditional parol, the spirit behind the season remains the same.  With traditional carols from many countries and continents of the world, the Salt Lake Choral Artists will take you on a musical journey uniting the world in a message of peace on earth and good will toward all people.

 And while many of the carols we love in the United States hail from other countries (“Silent Night,” for example, is from Austria), audience members are sure to find new favorites among the night’s music.  Discover a beautiful Irish lullaby, a festive Carnavalito dance from Argentina, traditional Australian carols, a newly-composed Hungarian carol, and a setting of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” that will take you across the world as well as through time, as each verse echoes a famous style or piece from music history.

Brady Allred, Artistic Director and conductor of the organization, commissioned composers from around the world to write new arrangements of their own traditional carols.  The response was great, resulting in world premieres of new carols that the audience will be the first to experience, including two exciting pieces from the Basque region of Spain that all five choirs will sing together, and an old Slovenian carol set for antiphonal choirs.  Tickets for the concert are $20/general admission and $10/student.  Group rates are available.  To purchase tickets, visit www.saltlakechoralartists.org.

The Salt Lake Choral Artists is an award-winning regional choral organization consisting of a 150-voice concert choir, 50-voice chamber choir, 60-voice women’s choir, 50-voice Salt Lake Vocal Artists, and 40-voice Young Choral Artists.  Under the direction of Dr. Brady Allred, the critically-acclaimed group performs 4 to 6 major concerts a year, including traditional masterworks and newly commissioned music.  The organization won Best of State in 2012 and expects to add a men’s choir and youth choir to their ranks in early 2013.

Artistic Director and conductor Dr. Brady Allred has developed an international reputation for excellence.  His choirs are known around the world for exquisite choral singing, and he has been awarded at major festivals and competitions for his interpretations of choral music.  He has been a guest conductor throughout the United States and Europe, and is regularly invited to serve on international juries at choral competitions.  Because of his energy and vision, Dr. Allred was selected by The Salt Lake Tribune as one of Utah’s top 25 cultural power-brokers.  For more information, call 801-232