The first concert takes place on Thursday, December 19th beginning at 6:30pm at the Lyric Theatre in St Paul, followed by concerts at Lebanon High School at 7pm on Friday, December 20th and Abingdon High School at 7pm on Saturday, December 21st.  All concerts are free and open to the public, though attendees are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food donation for area food pantries.

The Thursday, December 19th concert in St Paul will mark the third time the orchestra has performed at the Lyric, following many years of outdoor performances.  Orchestra members generally agree that the setting and the acoustics at the Lyric make it one of their favorite performance venues.

This year’s concerts include arrangements of traditional Christmas favorites, including a Canadian Brass Christmas, The Bells of Christmas and JS Bach’s well-known, Sleepers Wake.  The program will also include music from two Classic Christmas films, Christmas Vacation and Frozen, along with an unusual, minor mode setting of familiar Christmas carols called Minor Alterations.

The Heart of Appalachia Community Orchestra is an all-volunteer group of musicians from Southwest Virginia and neighboring states under the direction of Kevin Townsend.  For more information about the upcoming concerts, contact Kevin at kkirkt@yahoo.com.

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