Bel Canto Chorus presents Christmas in the Basilica

Nov. 11, 2011 - PRLog -- Milwaukee, WI - Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee will present a festive concert of traditional carols, hymns, and exquisite seasonal music on Saturday, December 10, at 7:30 PM, and Sunday, December 11, at 3:00 PM, at The Basilica of St. Josaphat. The program includes “The First Noel,” “Silent Night,” and Morten Lauridsen's “O Magnum Mysterium.” "Christmas in the Basilica" also features the Bel Canto Boy Choirs and the Milwaukee Handbell Ensemble.

Bel Canto’s holiday concert in the breathtaking Basilica of St. Josaphat has become an annual tradition for area families and music lovers. This year’s concert will feature traditional, secular, and religious holiday music including arrangements by Bel Canto’s Michelle Hynson and Milwaukee Handbell Ensemble director, John Behnke.  The audience will be invited to sing along on several carols.

Formed in 1931, Bel Canto Chorus is Southeastern Wisconsin’s longest continuously performing arts group. The majority of its members are volunteer singers from southeastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois. Under the direction of Maestro Richard Hynson, the chorus opened its 81st season on Sunday, September 11, 2011, with "United We Stand" in Cathedral Square Park. This free concert marked the tenth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks, and featured Mozart’s Requiem and Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” in collaboration with the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra. “The chorus sang with force and assurance, easily separating the complex vocal lines...and following Hynson's judicious phrasing in when to hold back and when to let go.” (David Lewellen, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

The Bel Canto Boy Choirs were formed in August 2009, under the direction of Ellen M. Shuler. As Milwaukee’s only boy choirs, the groups consist of talented boys with changed and unchanged voices. For their first concert of the 2011-2012 season, the boy choirs performed with the Chorknaben Uetersen from Germany at Mequon United Methodist Church in July 2011.  

The Milwaukee Handbell Ensemble, under the direction of John Behnke, is an auditioned adult community group sponsored by Concordia University Wisconsin. The ensemble showcases advanced handbell repertoire and has performed for the National Pastoral Musicians Conference in 2004 and The American Guild of English Handbell Ringers in 2006. MHE also traveled to Orlando, FL, in 2008 to participate in the International Handbell Symposium.

The Basilica of St. Josaphat, located at 2333 S. 6th Street in the Lincoln Village neighborhood of Milwaukee, is one of 62 minor basilicas in the United States. Its grandeur and opulence is an excellent example of the “Polish Cathedral” style of church architecture found in the Great Lakes region of North America. Modeled after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, it features one of the largest copper domes in the world. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated Milwaukee Landmark.

To purchase tickets ($25 - $30), please call the box office at 414.481.8801 or visit http://www.belcanto.org. Senior, student, and group discounts are available by phone.

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Bel Canto Chorus is Milwaukee’s premier choral organization. Founded in 1931, Bel
Canto is committed to enriching the lives of its audiences and singing members through
the outstanding live presentation of choral music.