Christmas at Heritage Center: “All the Souls on Earth Shall Sing!” at the University of Dubuque -- December 1.
Friday, December 1, 7:30 p.m.
University of Dubuque's Heritage Center, 2255 Bennett Street, Dubuque IA
On December 1, yule-minded audiences are invited to listen to carols from around the world and experience a beloved University of Dubuque tradition in Christmas at Heritage Center: All the Souls on Earth Shall Sing!, a concert event celebrating the spiritual meaning of the Christmas season presented part of the 11th-annual Live at Heritage Center Performing Arts Series.
Presented by UD’s Department of Fine and Performing Arts, this year's Christmas at Heritage Center will feature the talents of more than five dozen students in the UD ensembles, including: the UD Concert Band, conducted by Nolan Hauta, DMA, director of concert bands; the UD String Ensemble, conducted by Tracey Rush, MM, adjunct professor of music, in partnership with the Northeast Iowa School of Music; and the UD Concert Choir and Chamber Singers, directed by Kristen Eby, MM, head of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts and director of choral activities. An added treat this year will come in the form of a performance by the UD Handbell Ensemble, musicians also directed by Eby.
The All the Souls on Earth Shall Sing! repertoire will boast new carols mixed in with traditional favorites such as “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” “Carol of the Bells,” and “Away in a Manger.” The concert will also highlight a work composed in Dubuque: conductor Tracey Rush’s beautiful setting of “Cradle Hymn” for choir and string orchestra. Christmas at Heritage Center will include narration written by Timothy Slemmons, PhD, professor of homiletics and worship at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, and the holiday-concert event will conclude with a rousing rendition of “I Saw Three Ships" – the English carol from which this year’s Christmas at Heritage Center’s theme is taken – performed by all of the ensembles and university organist Charles Barland, DMA, on the grand John & Alice Butler Pipe Organ. Debuting in 2021, this jewel of the University of Dubuque boasts 3,033 separate pipes, the largest being 32 feet long and the smallest half the size of a pencil, and weighs in at roughly 21 tons.
Following the concert, a Christmas-cookie reception will take place in the CyberCafé and American Trust Lounge inside the Heritage Center, with lively holiday tunes provided by UD’s Jazz Band as conducted by Evan Glickman, DMA, director of jazz and athletic bands.
Christmas at Heritage Center: All the Souls on Earth Shall Sing! will be presented in the John & Alice Butler Hall of the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center on December 1, admission to the 7:30 p.m. show is $9-20, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)585-7469 and visiting Dbq.edu/heritagecenter.
