By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff
Give yourself the gift of music with any of a trio of holiday performances from local artists performing Friday, Dec. 13 through Sunday, Dec. 15.
First, the Pend Oreille Chorale and Orchestra will present “A Musical Gift for Christmas” on Friday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 601 S. Lincoln Ave. in Sandpoint. As always, the concerts are free and open to everyone in the community.
The group will begin the evening with a welcome by the Selkirk Brass, playing traditional Christmas music. The chorale follows with five selections covering several centuries, including international carols and 20th century classical pieces. The second half of the program proceeds with a Mozart piano quintet, followed by the orchestral portion of the evening, featuring pieces from The Nutcracker Suite. The concert will close with a Christmas composition for chorale and orchestra by conductor Mark Reiner.
This group of local singers and musicians have been presenting free classical music concerts twice a year for 25 years, led by conductors Mark and Caren Reiner.
“We all humbly thank our community for their continued support, and also St. Joseph’s, the Seventh Day Adventist Academy, as well as the Gardenia Center for their generous giving of rehearsal and concert space,” the group wrote in a statement.
Between chorale and orchestra shows, on Saturday, Dec. 14 catch Selkirk Brass in a free standalone performance at the First Presbyterian Church, 417 N. Fourth Ave.
The quintet of Mark Coburn on trombone, Bob Curran on tuba, Larry Hanna on french horn, Aryan Reiner on trumpet and Sandi Wilcox on baritone horn will play a slate of holiday favorites from 5-6 p.m.
Coburn said the group has been around in various iterations for about 15 years, with this particular lineup playing together for the past two years.
“We play all sorts of music; we play sacred music for churches or we can play classical marches, rags and jazz and show tunes — we’ve got a lot of different types of music available that we’ve got in our book,” Coburn said, though agreed that things definitely pick up for Selkirk Brass during the holiday season.
“We do have quite a bit going on,” he said.
The group is scheduled to perform another selection of festive tunes Saturday, Dec. 21 from 1 to 3 p.m at the Cedar Street Bridge — coinciding with several visits from Santa, who will greet kids at the bridge 11 a.m.-3 p.m. every day from Dec. 21 until Christmas Eve.
A Musical Gift for Christmas • With the Pend Oreille Chorale and Orchestra and Selkirk Brass; Friday, Dec. 13; 7 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 15; 2 p.m.; FREE. St. Joseph’s Catholic Church 610 S. Lincoln Ave., 208-263-3720, st-joseph-church.net. Call 208-263-0199 for more info.
Selkirk Brass Christmas • Saturday, Dec. 14; 5-6 p.m.; FREE. First Presbyterian Church, 417 N. Fourth Ave., 208-263-2047, fpcsandpoint.org.
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