Vashon Island Chorale’s 68 singers, accompanied by pianist Linda Lee and under the direction of Dr. Gary D. Cannon, will present “Candlelight Carols” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15, in the Kay White Theatre of Vashon Center for the Arts.
The program will mostly feature music by Sir John Rutter and four cantatas by Bach.
Bach penned hundreds of church cantatas; the Chorale will sing selections of four that were written for the Christmas season. Rutter’s name is virtually synonymous with Christmas carols, and the concert will feature both original compositions and arrangements of popular favorites.
Singers from McMurray Middle School Choir, under the direction of Erin Kealy, will present two songs. And as a community treat, audience members will be invited to sing along with traditional holiday songs several times during the concert.
A group of eight string players from the Vashon Maury Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Danielle McCutcheon, will also take the stage.
Cannon, the artistic director of the Chorale, is one of Seattle’s most versatile choral personalities, active as a conductor, singer, and musicologist. Since 2008, he has directed not only Vashon’s Chorale but also the Cascadian Chorale, a prominent chamber choir in Seattle’s Eastside suburbs.
In 2016 he founded a versatile professional choir, the Emerald Ensemble. At the invitation of the Early Music Guild, he founded and directed a Renaissance choir, Sine Nomine (2008–15). He has conducted for Vashon Opera three times, and has also directed Anna’s Bay Chamber Choir, Choral Arts Northwest, Earth Day Singers, Kirkland Choral Society, and the Northwest Mahler Festival.
As a tenor soloist, he has appeared with Pacific Northwest Ballet as well as several regional orchestras and choirs. He provides pre-concert lectures for the Seattle Symphony and writes program notes for choirs across the country. A California native, Cannon holds degrees from the University of California at Davis and the University of Washington.
Tickets to “Candlelight Carols” are $25 for general admission, $20 for members, and $22 for seniors. Youths younger than 18 are free. Buy tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org, the VCA box office, or at the door, if still available.
The Vashon Island Chorale, on the stage of Kay White Hall at Vashon Center for the Arts. (John de Groen photo)
