Vashon Island Chorale Concerts
“Candlelight Carols”
At Vashon Center for the Arts, Katherine L White Theater
Saturday, Dec. 14, 7:30pm
Sunday, Dec. 15, 3pm
Tickets are being sold online at vashoncenterforthearts.org, at the VCA ticket desk, and at the door, if still available.
Prices: $25 general, $20 VCA members, $22 senior, Free 18 and under
Dr. Gary D. Cannon, Artistic Director
VashonIslandChorale.org
VashonCenterfortheArts.org

Vashon Island Chorale’s sixty-eight singers accompanied by pianist Linda Lee, and under the direction of Dr. Gary D. Cannon present “Candlelight Carols” in two concerts at the Kay White Theater on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 7:30pm and Sunday, Dec. 15 at 3pm. The program consists mainly of holiday carols by Sir John Rutter and four cantatas by Bach which were written for the Christmas season.

Singers from McMurray Middle School choir under the direction of Erin Kealy will also present two songs. The audience will be invited to sing along with traditional holiday songs several times during the concert.

A group of eight strings players from Vashon Maury Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Danielle McCutcheon will also be on stage.

Concert tickets $25 general, $20 member, $22 senior are available at the VCA lobby desk and online at vashoncenterforthearts.org. Youth under 18 are free.

Artistic Director Dr. Gary D. Cannon can be reached for comments at cannonesque@gmail.com or 206-947-7464. Chorale President Jo Ann Bardeen can be reached at info@vashonislandchorale.org or 206-683-4556.

Dr. Gary D. Cannon is one of Seattle’s most versatile choral personalities, active as conductor, singer, and musicologist. Since 2008 he is Artistic Director of the Vashon Island Chorale and of the Cascadian Chorale, a prominent chamber choir in Seattle’s Eastside suburbs. In 2016 he founded a versatile professional choir, the Emerald Ensemble. At the invitation of the Early Music Guild, he founded and directed a Renaissance choir, Sine Nomine (2008–15). He has conducted for Vashon Opera three times, and has also directed Anna’s Bay Chamber Choir, Choral Arts Northwest, Earth Day Singers, Kirkland Choral Society, and the Northwest Mahler Festival.As a tenor soloist, he has appeared with Pacific Northwest Ballet as well as several regional orchestras and choirs. He provides pre-concert lectures for Seattle Symphony and writes program notes for choirs across the country. Cannon is formerly an instructor at Whatcom Community College (2004–6), where he received the Faculty Excellence Award. His independent musicological research emphasizes early-twentieth-century British music. A California native, Dr. Cannon holds degrees from the University of California at Davis and the University of Washington.

The Vashon Island Chorale celebrates Christmas with two great composers of sacred music: Johann Sebastian Bach and Sir John Rutter. Bach penned hundreds of church cantatas, of which we will sing selections of four that were written for the Christmas season. Rutter's name is virtually synonymous with Christmas carols: both original compositions and arrangements of popular favorites. Join the Chorale for this festive occasion of seasonal music old and new!

The McMurray Middle School Choir will be featured at the concert plus audience favorite sing-alongs.