“A Holiday to Remember”

Warren County — The Warren County Community Singers recently announced their upcoming, 14th Annual “Winterfest of Music” on Dec. 2 and 3. The two performances, one in Hackettstown and one in Washington, will feature an arrangement by Mac Huff entitled, “A Holiday to Remember.” It is a multi-traditional choral celebration sure to leave everyone with the Holiday spirit, no matter what Holiday one celebrates. The singers will perform the medley which includes “Away In a Manger,” “Once Upon a Wintertime,” “Happy Kwanzaa,” “Feliz Navidad,” “Happy Hanukkah, My Friend (The Hanukkah Song),” and “Rockin Around the Christmas Tree.” In addition to the medley, the group will perform, “Shalom Chaverim,” a Traditional Israeli Melody arranged by Patrick M. Liebergen, “African Alleluia,” by Benjamin Harlan, and “Make a Joyful Noise,” with words and music by Kirby Shaw, to mention a few. The performances feature a children’s chorus made up of children, with unchanged voices, from several towns throughout Warren, Hunterdon and Morris Counties. One selection the children and adult chorus will perform is, “Give Us Hope,” by Jim Papoulis from the project Sounds Of A Better World — Small Voices Calling, a series of songs focusing on children, which examines their world and how small steps can be made to improve it. Jim Papoulis’ compositions for choirs, orchestras, string quartets and chamber ensembles have been performed worldwide. There are approximately 70 adult singers in the Warren County Community Singers, from Warren, Morris and Hunterdon counties, ranging in age from High School through senior citizens, from all walks of life. The group’s artistic director, Dr. Kathleen Riley of Allamuchy leads the group in music which will surely appeal to a wide variety of tastes and traditions. Helene Friedlander of Long Valley, the accompanist, is a wonderful, talented addition to the group. There is no admission fee; rather, a free-will offering is suggested. The group is funded, in part, by the Warren County Cultural and Heritage Commission, and also relies on donations, program ads and sponsors, and fund raisers such as Avon sales. There will be an intermission. The concert in Hackettstown will take place on at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday evening, Dec. 2, at Centenary College, 400 Jefferson St., in the chapel of the main building of the campus. The concert in Washington will take place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 3 at the First Presbyterian Church of Washington on 40 E. Church St. For more information, visit www.wcsingers.org, e-mail singers@goes.com, call director Kathleen Riley at 908-850-8954 or write P.O. Box 394, Belvidere, NJ 07823.