The North Oakland Concert Band (NOCB) will hold its annual Christmas concert Sunday, Dec. 6, at 4 p.m.
This year, the NOCB welcomes Big Chief Chorus to share a program of music, facilitators said, that’s “bound to help your scrooge find some yuletide cheer.”
The free concert will be held at Christ the Redeemer Church, located at 2700 Waldon Road, Lake Orion.
The band will begin the concert with James Curnow’s Rejouissance, a composition based on the theme of the hymn A Mighty Fortress, followed by music from the movie The Polar Express.
The Big Chief Chorus will then sing a few selections including Down Our Way and Heart of My Heart. This will be followed by the delightful Snow Day Celebration, and Bach’s Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 537 will conclude the first portion of the concert.
After a brief intermission, the audience will hear Rimsky-Korsakoff’s Polonaise, arranged by NOCB band member Laura Mazich.
The BCC will then sing Yo, Ho! A Pirate’s Life for Me!, and Heigh Ho. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Jingle Bells are among the Christmas favorites to be sung by the chorus. The band will also perform Midnight Sleighride from Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kije Suite, as well as The Night Before Christmas, narrated by Lake Orion High School student Parisa Sorya.
The concert will conclude with a Christmas Sing-a-long, after which the audience and musicians will share an afterglow with refreshments and traditional carols.
The Big Chief Chorus has been making music for over 66 years in the Pontiac-Waterford area.
The group, which performs in the barbershop style under the direction of Tom Blue, is an active chorus, performing over 30 times per year, and were privileged to sing the National Anthem at a Tiger game in 2006. Visit the group’s website at www.bigchiefchorus.org.
The NOCB is in its 32nd season of providing music to the community. Based in Lake Orion, the band has 80 members from many of the surrounding communities, including Clarkston, Rochester, and Waterford.
Citizens from a variety of professions meet weekly under the direction of Annette Kline to rehearse for eight concerts per year featuring a wide variety of music. Although the concerts are free, the band relies on generous tax-deductible donations from its audience to finance operations. Learn more about the NOCB on www.nocb.org.