In Brief:
Trinity Western University’s signature Christmas event, Christmas at the Chan, takes place at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 3 at the Chan Centre for Performing Arts in Vancouver. The event sells out each year. Don’t miss out—buy your tickets early! Tickets are on sale now and are available at tickets.ubc.ca.
Rejoice! - Christmas at the Chan 2017
Christmas season highlight event Christmas at the Chan is a showcase of four Trinity Western University choirs accompanied by a professional orchestra for a musical celebration of the season. Award-winning conductor Dr. Joel Tranquilla, Director of Choral Activities at TWU’s School of the Arts, Media + Culture, brings the audience an enchanting afternoon of musical performance to usher in the spirit and meaning of Christmas.
Christmas at the Chan features a variety of choral music with performances by TWU’s Concert Choir, Chamber Choir, Chamber Singers, and the Masterworks Chorus. It brings together 125 singers with a 40-piece orchestra of professional musicians. With Rejoice! as a theme, the performance features several pieces that use and evoke the sound of bells – a sound long associated with Christmastime. According to Tranquilla, bells represent a collective response, yet each bell has a distinctive tone quality.
Concert Highlights:
- solos by TWU voice instructor and soprano Alison Nystrom
- performance of Francis Poulenc’s Gloria
- works by composers Jeff Enns, Timothy Corlis, John Rutter, and Jonathan Dove
- traditional carols and an audience singalong.
“Poulenc’s Gloria is a beautiful version of the familiar Latin text used liturgically throughout the year. It’s a great example of music that brings together child-like playfulness with a sincere observance of the holiness that we meet at the manger. It's a major work in the choral-orchestral repertoire that I've always been drawn to, so it’s a thrill to present this piece of music to the audience,” says Tranquilla.
Trinity Western University’s choral program has been recognized internationally. TWU choirs collaborate with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Vancouver Chamber Choir; and have performed on CBC Radio and at Carnegie Hall; and toured to China, Korea, Eastern Europe and Ukraine.
“Our annual Christmas at the Chan Centre concert is a collaborative gift to the wider community from the Chan family, and the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, and Trinity Western University. It is made possible through generous assistance from the Chan Endowment Fund of the University of British Columbia. Join us to anticipate the coming of Christ with joy and celebration!” says Tranquilla.
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is a private Christian post-secondary institution in Langley, British Columbia. It is a fully accredited university offering liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media and culture.
For more information
Angela Lee
Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist
Trinity Western University
604-513-2027 x 3191
angela.lee@twu.ca