Choral music fans have no shortage of concerts to enjoy over the Christmas holidays. You could practically spend all your time going from one great vocal concert to the next, getting your fill of secular and sacred tunes. Digging a little deeper, the metro area also offers plenty of instrumental ruminations on the season, be it a concert with the members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra brass section, Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta’s annual Santa’s Favorite Chamber Music concert or a trip to one of the many Gate City Brass holiday showcases. Here are some highlights of both choral and instrumental holiday music concerts this season.
Spelman-Morehouse Christmas Carol Concert
An annual holiday tradition for 97 years, attendees will get to experience the amassed glee clubs of Morehouse and Spelman colleges as they put on quite a show. The event is free, so plan on getting there early because seats fill up fast. If you miss out, the Morehouse Glee Club will once again be part of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas with the ASO performances at Symphony Hall.
7:30 p.m. Dec. 1. 6 p.m. Dec. 3. Free. Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, Morehouse College, 830 Westview Drive SW, Atlanta. 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2. Free. Sisters Chapel, Spelman College, 350 Spelman Lane SW, Atlanta. 404-215-2601. mcgclub.com
Credit: Steve Ozcomert
Credit: Steve Ozcomert
Coro Vocati
Coro Vocati’s 15th season opened with a reexamination of “Considering Matthew Shepard,” a moving choral and multimedia work they first presented in 2019. The professional choir’s second concert of the 2023-2024 season is a celebration of holiday carols and familiar songs. The choir heads up to Gainesville in April, so the holiday concert is your last chance to see the choir inside the perimeter.
2:30 p.m. Dec. 17. All Saints’ Episcopal Church, 634 W. Peachtree St. NW, Atlanta. corovocati.org
Credit: Nate Ryan
Credit: Nate Ryan
Christmas with Cantus
From its origins as a college group at St. Olaf College in the mid-’90s, the eight-member vocal ensemble Cantus has grown into an internationally known non-profit with an eye toward education. The group swings by Spivey Hall this holiday season to blend together three holiday stories with familiar carols and new holiday classics. The group matches up Dickens with “A Letter from Santa Claus” by Mark Twain and Christine Le’s “The Hawai’i Snowman.”
3 p.m. Dec. 3. $25-$65. Spivey Hall, 2000 Clayton State Blvd., Morrow. 678-466-4200. spiveyhall.org
New South Festival Singers
The New South Festival Singers has been offering volunteer musicians an Atlanta a cappella outlet for nearly 40 years. In the annual holiday show, music director Lynn Swanson unites the 40-voice ensemble with the Georgia Youth Choir, directed by Alyssa Gangarosa. For their Candlelight and Carols concert, the group promises to perform traditional classics and carols from around the world.
6 p.m. Dec. 3. $5-$75. St. John United Methodist Church, 550 Mt. Paran Road, Atlanta. 913-488-7524. festivalsingers.org
Atlanta Symphony Brass
The brass section of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra heads to St. Philip’s Cathedral in early December to kick off the season with their sixth annual holiday concert. Joined by ASO percussion musicians, they’ll perform holiday carols and arrangements of traditional holiday fare. Dale Adelmann will conduct the group. You can also catch the musicians performing with the symphony in Christmas with the ASO (Dec. 9-10) and Handel’s “Messiah” (Dec. 14-15).
7:30 p.m. Dec. 8. $10-$150. The Cathedral of St. Philip, 2744 Peachtree Road NW, Atlanta. 404-365-1000. cathedralatl.org
Atlanta Master Chorale
It’s so nice, they decided to sing it thrice. The Atlanta Master Chorale now has three performances scheduled for its annual holiday concert at Emory University, a show that sees the group, led by artistic director Eric Nelson, dive into a full evening of holiday classics. If the choral sound filling the Schwartz Center leaves you wanting more, the group has two concerts scheduled for the spring, one of which features sacred music from around the world.
8 p.m. Dec. 8-9. 4 p.m. Dec. 10. $32-$38. Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, 1700 N. Decatur Road, Atlanta. 404-727-5050. schwartz.emory.edu
Emory Chamber Music Society
Did Santa listen to classical music? Who was his go-to composer? During the Santa’s Favorite Chamber Music concert, the Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta will unveil the answer with a little help from Julie Coucheron and artistic director William Ransom on piano and, of course, the big guy himself.
4 p.m. Dec. 10. Free. Michael C. Carlos Museum, 571 S. Kilgo Circle NE, Atlanta. chambermusicsociety.emory.edu
Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra
The Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra’s A Kids’ Christmas concert is all about fun and whimsy, but the organization pays special attention to make sure everyone can join the fun. Billed as a sensory-friendly concert, the orchestra takes strides to make the show suitable for “individuals with autism, Alzheimer’s, dementia, other special needs, small children, or anyone just desiring a casual holiday concert experience.”
2:30 p.m. Dec. 16. $17-$30. Johns Creek United Methodist Church, 11180 Medlock Bridge Road, Johns Creek. 678-748-5802. johnscreeksymphony.org
Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus
The Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus has been performing an annual holiday concert for the past 42 years. During that time, according to organizers, they’ve served as the start to the season for thousands of Atlantans every year. This December, there’s an added bonus concert: To celebrate the 10th season of the Atlanta Women’s Chorus, the group takes to the Conant Performing Arts Center in Brookhaven for a special Holiday Memories show Dec. 16, which will track the group’s favorite seasonal selections from the past decade.
8 p.m. Dec. 1. 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Dec. 2. $35-$75. Cathedral of St. Philip, 2744 Peachtree Road, Atlanta. voicesofnote.org
Amethyst Baroque Ensemble
Amethyst Baroque Ensemble is getting in gear to bring the holiday season back a few centuries. In its A Voice Astounds Us: An Advent Songfest concert, countertenor Adrin Akins and music director Alexandra Dunbar, playing organ and harpsichord, join together with Jean Brenner on viola da gamba and Jody Miller on recorder for tunes that span from the 16th century through the Baroque period to recent(ish) hymns. This group debuted in 2018 when, as a duo, Dunbar and Miller “sightread recorder sonatas at a music shop.” Come see how far they’ve come.
7 p.m. Dec. 16. St. Bede’s Episcopal Church, 2601 Henderson Mill Road, Atlanta. amethystbaroque.com
Gate City Brass
It isn’t the holiday season without the five-member Gate City Brass chamber group taking it on the road to churches around the metro area. They start at Oak Grove Methodist Church in Decatur with shows on Dec. 9-10 and end the month in Roswell for a Christmas Eve service. Catch them in the Atlanta city limits at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church on Dec. 15. Prepare for your outing by streaming a concert of band member arrangements and contemporary repertoire on their website.
Multiple dates and locations. $20. www.gatecitybrass.com
Credit: MARK RAINEY
Credit: MARK RAINEY
Kinnara
Poulenc, Vaughan Williams and Dawson are just some of the composers you’ll hear during the Kinnara vocal ensemble’s holiday concert. Led by artistic director J.D. Burnett, who also directs North Texas’s Orpheus Chamber Singers, Kinnara is made up of premier vocalists from throughout the U.S., including a large contingent of metro-area artists.
8 p.m. Dec. 23. $10-$30. Glenn Memorial Auditorium, Emory University, 1634 N. Decatur Road, Atlanta. kinnara.org
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