This year’s Gala Holiday Concerts will take place Saturday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 7, at 3 p.m. in UW’s Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts concert hall. The UW Collegiate Chorale and UW Symphony Orchestra will perform as well as several guest soloists. (UW Photo)
The University of Wyoming Department of Music invites everyone to experience the magic
of the season at the annual Gala Holiday Concerts Saturday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m. and
Sunday, Dec. 7, at 3 p.m. in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts concert hall.
Tickets are available at www.tix.com/ticket-sales/uwyo/6984, in person or at (307) 766-6666 at the Performing Arts box office, Monday through
Friday, noon to 6 p.m., and one hour before performances.
A cherished family-friendly Laramie tradition, this year’s Gala Holiday Concerts feature
the UW Collegiate Chorale and the UW Symphony Orchestra performing a festive program
of sacred masterworks and popular holiday favorites.
The first half of the program features the UW Collegiate Chorale performing the Christmas
portion of George Frideric Handel’s timeless oratorio, “Messiah.” This will include
the beloved movements “Comfort Ye, My People”; “For Unto Us a Child Is Born”; and
the triumphant “Hallelujah” chorus. This segment will also feature performances by
UW student soloists, as well as guest soloists Lauren Lestage, soprano; Magdalena
Wór, mezzo-soprano; Nathan Snyder, tenor; and, singing bass, Erik Erlandson.
For the second half of the program, the UW Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael
Griffith, will shift the mood with a vibrant selection including “A Christmas Festival”
by Leroy Anderson, “Caribbean Sleigh Ride” by Robert Wendel and “We Need a Little
Christmas” from the musical “Mame.” The performance will close with Alan Silvestri’s
suite from the popular film “The Polar Express.”
The Gala Holiday Concerts are dedicated to the memory of Punch Williamson, whose iconic organ postludes were a fond tradition at these performances for many years.
