Press Releases

SPECIAL HOLIDAY PERFORMANCES FOR ALL AGES "A CHRISTMAS IN WALES"- TWO PERFORMANCES ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7 AT 4PM AND 7PM, AT ST. JOHN'S CATHEDRAL (FREE)

SPOKANE - Connoisseur Concerts will present two free, family concerts called "A Christmas In Wales". These special holiday programs are suitable for all ages and will run just over one hour with no intermission.  The performances will be Sunday, December 7, at 4pm and 7pm at St. John's Cathedral, Grand Boulevard at 12th Avenue in Spokane.  No tickets are required; seating is first come, first serve.  Doors will open one hour before the concerts, and ensembles of the Spokane Youth Orchestra will provide pre-concert music.

Local actor Patrick Treadway will be featured as well as the Spokane Youth Orchestra, Verne Windham, Music Director, who will conduct the program; the Spokane Area Children's Chorus, Kristina Ploeger, Artistic Director; along with Randel Wagner, baritone; and Janet Ahrend, organ.  The "A Christmas In Wales" skit is written by Lydia Newell; the music for the program is arranged by Meghan Goodner.

Lydia Newell and Meghan Goodner are alumni of both the Spokane Youth Orchestra and the Spokane Area Children's Chorus where they demonstrated exceptional abilities.  Newell, an EWU graduate, is currently Academic Administrator for the C.S. Lewis Study Centre at The Kilns near Oxford, England after earning Master's degrees at Duke University and Oxford University.  Goodner attended the Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University, and then transferred to Westminster Choir College of Rider University where she will graduate this year with a degree in Music Education.  Goodner was active as a composer and arranger under the tutelage of Spokane musician William Berry during her high school years.  Connoisseur Concerts is pleased to showcase the talents of these emerging artists.

Welsh Christmas celebrations are enchanting with rich musical traditions of early-Christmas morning singing in churches (called Plygain) followed by folk games, taffy making and feasting by the hearth with door-to-door toasting in the communities.  Included in the musical selections for this program are Dark The Night, Lulla Lulla (The Coventry Carol), Deck The Halls (Oer yw'r gwr in Welsh), and All Through The Night (Ar Hyd Y Nos) as well as Hyfredol, a great Welsh hymn tune.

These family entertainment performances are fully underwritten by The Johnston-Hanson Foundation and Elizabeth and Fred Hanson as a gift to the community at the holiday season.             

CALENDAR LISTING:
Connoisseur Concerts presents "A Christmas In Wales" with two performances on Sunday, December 7, 2008, at 4pm and 7pm at St. John's Cathedral, Grand Boulevard at 12th Avenue in Spokane.  Featuring Patrick Treadway; the Spokane Youth Orchestra, Verne Windham, Music Director; the Spokane Area Children's Chorus, Kristina Ploeger, Artistic Director,  Janet Ahrend, Organ, and Randel Wagner, Baritone.  FREE.  No tickets needed.  Underwritten by the Johnston-Hanson Foundation.  First come, first serve seating.  Doors open at 3pm and 6pm with pre-concert music by ensembles of Spokane Youth Orchestra.