Gaudete - Rejoice! Kantorei at the Holidays

Join Kantorei for a program of festive premieres and beloved holiday music, featuring the U.S. premiere of British-Armenian composer, Kristina Arakelyan's A Christmas Offering, featuring Janet Kay Harriman on harp. Inspired by Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols, this nine-movement work is a festive celebration ranging from the energetic "Alleluia!" to the contemplative "Out of the East," to heartfelt moments such as "There is no rose". Like Britten, Arakelyan draws her texts from medieval carols in Latin and early English that tell the nativity story. Her musical language evokes a medieval sound world with a contemporary twist, drawing on her own Armenian heritage and other Eastern influences to bring these ancient texts vividly to life. The program also includes a world premiere written by Arakelyan, commissioned for Kantorei by Scott Horowitz and Leah Weinberg, and selections of holiday favorites featuring Alicia Rigsby and Amanda Draheim on piano four-hand.