Mid-Columbia Mastersingers plan holiday concert Dec. 4-5

The holiday season can be hectic.

Crowded stores. Extra traffic. Long to-do lists.

But it’s a peaceful and beautiful time too.

And Mid-Columbia Mastersingers will celebrate that during its concerts Dec. 4 and 5 in Richland.

“Christmas and the holidays have become so heavily commercialized, and so busy and almost frantic sometimes. Several of the pieces were picked because they’re the opposite of that. They’re celebrating the quietness, finding a time to be in quietness. It’s simple and beautiful music,” said Reg Unterseher, associate conductor.

The performances also will feature some traditional and lively holiday tunes as well.

Two Mastersingers ensembles will perform — the Boys’ Choir and the new Women’s Choir — along with Bells of the Desert handbell choir.

The groups will start and end the show together, and also perform some pieces on their own.

Harpist Chelsea Spence and guest percussionists are set to take part, along with conducting intern Gavin Spurr.

Audience members will hear a mix of popular holiday music, like We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and also some pieces that are a little less familiar but just as fitting and special, Unterseher said.

“One of the great things about holiday music is you really do want to hear things you know, but you don’t want it to be a concert of all Rudolph. We wanted to have a varied experience for people,” he told the Herald.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4 and 5 at Central United Protestant Church, 1124 Stevens Drive.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $22 at the door. A group rate is available. Students in kindergarten through high school are admitted for free.

Tickets are available at www.midcolumbiamastersingers.org, at the Mastersingers office and the Tri-Cities Academy of Ballet and Music, both in Richland, and also at the door.

This story was originally published November 26, 2015 at 5:35 AM with the headline "Mid-Columbia Mastersingers plan holiday concert Dec. 4-5."