Community chorus holiday concert to take place Sunday

COLUMBUS — While the name on the top of the calendar may now read “January,” for many local concertgoers, the holidays are not over until the Foothills’ Community Chorus sings.

The vocalists will take over the stage inside the Polk County High School auditorium at 3 p.m. Sunday for its annual holiday concert. Led by guest director Susan Lyle, with the Congregational Church of Tryon, and accompanied by Christmas Chorus Brass quintet, the Community Chorus will perform an arrangement of Christmas carols from around the world, including Ukraine, England and Sweden.

The concert was originally set to take place on Dec. 9 but was postponed to early January due to Winter Storm Diego. Despite the extended break, the members of the Community Chorus plan to rehearse on Friday to shake off the rust and get back into gear before Sunday’s performance, said Carol Browning, the treasurer of the chorus.

The Community Chorus — a group of community singers formed by Rotary Club of Tryon member Ken Lackey in 1973 — typically performs two concerts every year: a spring concert (the 2019 show is set to take place April 28) and a holiday concert. The Christmas performance is helmed by a different director every year, who selects a theme and arranges a variety of pieces based around the subject.

“The variety of music we’ve sung over the years has been wonderful,” said Browning, who has been a member of the chorus since 2004. “We’ve sung music from a variety of genres, with songs you don’t typically get to sing in a regular church choir.”

This year, guest director Lyle selected the theme of “Christmas Around the World,” with the show including carols based on pieces such as Ukraine’s “Carol of the Bells,” France’s “He Is Born,” and America’s “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

Like past Community Chorus performances, the ticket sales from Sunday’s show will go toward the Rotary Club of Tryon’s annual student scholarships. The civic organization typically awards around $30,000 worth of scholarships to Polk County High School seniors, with a large part of the sum coming from the Community Chorus’ concerts, Browning said.

She encourages the public to attend the show on Sunday, saying it will give residents a chance to hear their friends and neighbors perform as well as offer an opportunity to support the community’s youth.

“I think people will enjoy [the show],” Browning said. “It will be a wonderful way to wrap up the holiday season and welcome 2019.”

Tickets will be available at the door the afternoon of the performance. Any tickets sold for the original December date will be honored.