The Choral Art Society Presents Christmas at the Cathedral December 5 and 6 in Portland

PORTLAND, Maine ’Äì Christmas at the Cathedral is an annual Christmas holiday favorite for many seeking respite from the whirlwind of Christmas. A concert that emphasizes the beauty of song, the sound of trumpets and brass from the Portland Brass Quintet and the beauty of the organ at the adept hands and feet of organist Dan Moore, Christmas at the Cathedral provides an opportunity for calm reflection of the joys of the season.

This year the Choral Art Singers will present a new work, Charles Kaufmann's "A Longfellow Winter." The Choral Art Society (CAS) commissioned this piece from Kaufmann, an award-winning composer and the founding director of The Longfellow Chorus. CAS music director Robert Russell speaks well of this new work, "Two years ago we sang one of Chip's Longfellow settings, and we all liked it a lot. I asked him to compose around that original setting, and he has created a five-movement setting -- with his original setting in the center-- which brilliantly captures the various guises of a Maine winter: delicate, brutal, interminable, and ineffable. Some of the settings are for a cappella chorus, and some are accompanied by our keyboardist, Dan Moore."

Christmas at the Cathedral is scheduled for Saturday, December 5, with a noon preview and 8:00 p.m. concert and on Sunday, December 6 at 2:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. The concerts are held at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, Portland, 307 Congress Street.’Ä® ’Ä®The concerts are sponsored by Norton Insurance and Financial and Ramblers Way Farm.

Tickets range from $10 (preview show, available at the door only) to $30 with a limited number of $5 youth tickets, and will be available through CAS by calling (207) 828-0043 or visiting www.choralart.org.

Other upcoming CAS holiday events include their annual CAS Messiah Sing-Along and Handel on Hunger Food Drive, Monday, December 14 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. The food drive will benefit Project FEED, an emergency food pantry in Portland, and admission is $5.00 at the door (students are free). An Epiphany Celebration will be held Saturday, January 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Portland.

About The Choral Art Society:’Ä®

The Society has more than 150 members who perform in three distinct ensembles: the symphonic Masterworks Chorus, the mid-sized Choral Art Singers, and the intimate a cappella Camerata. All singers are skilled amateurs, selected by audition. The Society offers an annual concert series and appears regularly as guests of the Portland Symphony Orchestra. Robert Russell, professor of music at the University of Southern Maine, is the conductor and artistic director of The Choral Art Society.

For more information about The Choral Art Society and the season of performances visit www.choralart.org or call (207) 828-0043.