The Genevans student choir welcomes Christmas season with "Glad Tidings!"

BEAVER FALLS, PA (11/21/2014)(readMedia)-- Geneva College's student choir, The Genevans, will perform its annual Christmas concerts on Friday, December 5 and Saturday, December 6 at the First Presbyterian Church in Beaver Falls. The doors will open at 6:15 p.m. both nights, with the organ prelude starting at 6:30 p.m. and the concert at 7 p.m.

The title of the concert is "Glad Tidings!," which coordinates with the choir's overarching theme for the year, "Good News." Director Dr. David Kenneth Smith explains, "It's important to bear in mind that although we live in a world full of bad news, in the midst of this there are the glad tidings that God sent His Son to earth as an infant, to be our Savior. And that is the best news of all."

Concert repertoire will feature the choir performing some Christmas-season favorites, such as "Good Christian Men Rejoice," "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and "Carol of the Bells." Audience participation will be encouraged for classic carols like "Joy to the World" and "Angels We Have Heard on High." Also, several choruses from Handel's "Messiah" will be included.

"At the center of the concert is the beautiful piece "Serenity: O Magnum Mysterium" by Norwegian-born composer Ola Gjeilo," says Smith. The piece is a meditation on "the news and the miracle that the God of the universe condescended to be born in a stable with cattle as witnesses," says Smith, adding that "its atmospheric string-accompanied sound will be a favorite."

The concerts will also feature solos, including Amie Speers, a senior music education major from Aliquippa, and Justin Addicott, a music education major from Enon Valley. They are performing the Messiah recitatives and "O Holy Night," respectively.

Addicott will also act as conductor in "Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella." And sophomore communications major Michael Kearney of Mount Sinai, NY, will perform the organ prelude.

Dr. Smith is pleased to offer these events to the college and members of local communities: "In all, the concerts will be filled with beautiful music to lift the spirits of all in this busy time of the year when good cheer is much needed."

The Genevans choir is heir to a tradition of choral singing dating from the early years of the college over a century and a half ago. The mission of the choir expresses Geneva's belief that music, as one of God's finest gifts, meets a deep, universal need in people. The choir's repertoire is broad and varied, reflecting the belief that "all of life, always and everywhere, is life in the presence of God."

Admission to the concert is free. A free-will offering will be collected to support the ministry of The Genevans.

Learn more about The Genevans at http://www.geneva.edu/object/genevans.

Stay updated with The Genevans on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thegenevans.

Geneva College invites students to step forward and leap ahead with an academically excellent, Christ-centered and affordable education. Offering nearly 40 undergraduate majors, Adult Degree Programs with fully online and campus-based options, and high-demand advanced graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. U.S. News & World Report ranks Geneva as a Top 10 Best Value with one of the Top 100 engineering programs in the nation. Adhering to the inerrancy of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God's word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today's world.