Religion

Last Updated on Tuesday, 29 December 2015 02:14

By Paul Chasko

An audience of about 200 got a big dose of Christmas spirit on December 13, as promised, at the annual St. Francis of Assisi Christmas concert. The nicely-sized crowd attended the concert that lasted just over an hour.

The St. Francis Choir

The Advent program contained Christmas music by the St. Francis of Assisi Choir, under the direction of St. Francis Music Director Chris Fiano, and the Too Many Tubas Community Band, directed by Paul and Dorothy Dolinar. Nineteen seasonal musical selections were presented, interspersed by scriptural readings by Deacon Vic Satter. The combination of readings and music told the Christmas story in a unique way for the audience. Comments heard from attendees were very positive, which was gratifying for the members who put in many hours of practice learning new selections and polishing up some old favorites.
Solos and duets from the choir were handled by Ruth Gentile, Ron Broglie, Jim Valecko and Chuck Stewart. Paul Dolinar shared conduction of the band’s wind ensemble with R. Pantaleo, which also featured a vocal duet by band members Sylvia Bender and Dorothy Dolinar, accompanied by R. Pantaleo (keyboard) and R. Ricco (drums).
Audience members indicated that the groups sounded very professional.
The concert was followed by a social with coffee, tea and lots of cookies furnished by the refreshment committee and contributors; all in all, it was a very nice evening.

Add tag - Go to our website at www.messengerpaper.com for more photos of this event. Photos courtesy of Norma Chasko.