Submitted by The San Juan Singers

San Juan Singers have been serenading the island holidays for nearly 40 years. No longer just a winter concert, it has become part of the community’s holiday tradition.

“This concert has some familiar and some new sounds,” said San Juan Singer Director Angel Michaels.

The concert this year, titled “Christmas Reflections” will be performed at the San Juan Community Theatre at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 10 and 2 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 11. Tickets are available at the theater’s box office, and cost $18 for adults, $9 for students and $5 student rush at the door. “Christmas Reflections” features Gordon Thornett’s “Gloria in D.” According to the composer, San Juan Singers will be the fourth American performance.

“It has an upbeat dancing feel, sparkling with brass, grounded with timpani, and features a soprano solo sung by Jamie Mountford,” said Michaels.

Daniel Pinkham’s “Christmas Cantata,” a choir favorite, will also be sung.

“‘Christmas Cantata’ is my musical version of comfort food,” Michaels said, explaining that it has been a part of her Christmas music tradition since she first sang it in high school.

Rounding out the program will be some familiar Christmas carols and hymns, including “Christmas Day,” a medley of traditional carols. The Singers will also perform a hymn that, with verses in both Hebrew and English, combines faith traditions. Another piece, “Hodie/Today on Earth,” was commissioned by Garrison Keillor of “A Prairie Home Companion” in 2012. It combines a 15th-century chant and a new song by Caroline Mallonee. It premiered Dec. 22, 2012 at a venue called Town Hall in New York, and was sung by the DiGiallonardo Sisters and the All-Star Shoe Band.

“It’s four minutes of joy wrapped up in a couple of complimentary tunes – a lovely marriage of old and new harmonies,” said Michaels.

Sound Vibrations, a local women’s a cappella group will join the stage as special guests, singing Christmas songs in their upbeat, close-harmony style.

“It’s my hope that our audiences head home with lighter hearts and refreshed by the energizing sounds that can only be experienced in live concerts,” said Michaels.

For more info, visit sanjuansingers.org or sjctheatre.org.