(Press release)

Belton, Texas – ‘Jewels of the Season’ - the annual UMHB Choral Christmas Gala will be presented by the music department at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, December 8, at the First Baptist Church of Belton. First Baptist Church is 702 North Main Street. The event is free and open to the public.

The concert will include many of the holiday favorites and meaningful Christmas melodies such as ‘Joy to the World’, ‘Deck the Halls’ &‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing.’ Highlights of the program will feature 100-combined voices in Alice Parker’s – ‘Masters in This Hall’, some of the choral/orchestral classics of the holiday season – Gustav Holst’s ‘Christmas Day’, Mack Wilberg’s ‘Away in a Manger’ and ‘I Saw Three Ships’; less familiar but equally exciting – Vaclav Nelhybel’s ‘Estampie Natalis’, along with an orchestral arrangement of ‘Greensleeves’ by renowned composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. Music faculty member Matt Crosby’s special arrangement of ‘Jingle Bells’ for choir will also be featured.

John W. McLean, UMHB director of choral activities, will lead this annual event intended to evoke the communal spirit of the holiday season. Although admission is free, donations may be made to the UMHB Music Department Scholarship Fund.

The combined ensembles from the UMHB music department that will be spotlighted include Conservatory Choirs, Concert Choir, Women’s Chorus, Chambers Singers, One Voice and the Bell Civic Chorale.