When you think of a traditional Christmas, what do you think of?
That answer can vary depending on the family, culture, and geography of everyone’s life. The one constant, however, is that people’s eyes light up when they describe their holiday rituals and routines.
“Every Christmas Eve, it was a tradition for us to go to the local United Church and take in the lessons and carols,” says Winnipeg director Rob Herriot with the Little Opera Company. “All I remember is feeling a sense of warmth and a sustained hug as it were, the lights going out and the choir processing down the aisle with candles singing ‘Once in Royal David's City’. And it was an hour of absolute escape, and the feeling that there was something so special about to happen.”
Robert Campbell had a similar story to share when he spoke with Nolan Kehler on Morning Light. “I grew up in a in a small rural community, and it was essentially related to the church and also the school, you know, the school would have a a Christmas concert of sorts.”
That ambience of childhood and of repose is one that Campbell and Herriot will be creating with the Little Opera Company’s A Traditional Christmas Concert on December 6. They’ll have plenty of help creating this mystical night of holiday magic, with the Winnipeg Boys Choir's Continuo choir, the NUOVOCE Chamber Choir, the Ecole Secondaire Sisler choir, and soloists Sloan Smith, Ashley Schneberger, Christopher Dunn and Rachel Landrecht lending their voices alongside pianist Lisa Rumpel, percussionist Cameron Denby and a string quartet. The concert will also be conducted by Neil Weisensel.
“It’s sort of like a smorgasbord,” explains Campbell. “You go to a Christmas function and there’s all sorts of dainties and food items in front of you. This will allow you to sort of appreciate a wide variety of groups and artists.”
Herriot had another helpful metaphor for the concert. “This is kind of like being in one of those old European cities where the streets turn every four feet and you’re in a different corridor.”
This ambitious program is nothing new for the Little Opera Company, who are well-known in Winnipeg for their bold, adventurous programming and presentation of works that may not have otherwise been seen. Campbell notes that this makes them well-suited to explore traditions of all kinds in A Traditional Christmas Concert. “There’s a place for provoking conversation,” he acknowledges, “but there’s also a place [for] allowing yourself to be wrapped up in the warmth of the Christmas tradition.”
Audiences can experience that warmth at All Saints Anglican Church on Friday, December 6 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets and more information can be found at the Little Opera Company’s website.