Let There Be Peace on Earth

I joined The Mill Creek Chorale after viewing the 2019 Christmas concert. I was amazed of the 109 other members of the group had such a big rich sound and the director, Sean Berg, did a great job of painting with sound with the wonderful piano accompaniment of Jeremy Young. Having not been in a choir since I was in grad school at Belmont University getting my Master’s of Music Education, I was eager to be a part of a choir again, especially a secular community choir.

Preparation began at the end of January 2020 to begin rehearsing for a spring concert and a possible summer singing tour in the British Isles (for those members that decided to do the tour). Well, needless to say that COVID-19 had a whole host of other ideas, namely that singing in a large choir became a dangerous activity (who would have thought that singing could be dangerous).

Click ahead to the Fall of 2021, and after a long detour and a lot of individual perseverance, the choir assembled again (with masks and vaccinations) in preparation for a Holiday 2021 concert. About half of the singers did not return for various reasons, but just over 50 singers (with a few of them being brand new to the group this season) were determined to fill their collective hearts with the joy through song.

We worked hard to present this concert to you, so below is the full concert. You can check out other videos on our Youtube page. I have taken one concert (The Saturday concert) and marked the spaces where each piece begins below. Each of the clips is taken from the same concert but are shared with the appropriate time below for easy access.

Prelude

Intro

Joy to the World (With Audience Sing-along) - Traditional

Hark! The Hearal Angels Sing - arr. Mack Wilberg

Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming - Praetorius, arr. Allen Griffith

Sweeter Still: A Holiday Carol - Eric William Barnum

The First Noel - arr. Dan Forrest

Jingle Bells - arr. Ray Charles

Santa Makes an Appearance

Carol of the Bells - arr. Peter J. Wilhousky

Go Tell it on the Mountain - arr. Gillespie Jacobson

Flight Song - Kim André Arnersen

All we are, we have found in song: You have drawn this song from us Songs of lives unfolding Fly overhead, cry overhead: Longing, rising from the song within

Moving like the rise and fall of wings Hands that shape our calling voice On the edge of answers You’ve heard our cry, you’ve known our cry: Music’s fierce compassion flows from you

The night is restless with the sounds we hear Is broken, shaken by the cries of pain: For this is music’s inner voice Saying, yes, we hear you All you who cry aloud And we will fly, answering you: So our lives sing, sing Wild we will fly Wild in spirit we will fly

Like a feather falling from the wing Fragile as a human voice Afraid, uncertain Alive to love, we sing as love Afraid, uncertain Yet our flight begins as song

Let There be Peace on Earth - arr. Craig Courtney

Silent Night (With audience Sing-along) - Traditional

In Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed our concert and I look forward to being part of more concerts with the ensemble in the future. Until then, I hope your holiday season is filled with warmth and good tidings.