As Christmas countdowns dwindle toward the big day, the Wasatch Camerata chamber singers are preparing to host “Sing We Now of Christmas.”
The three free holiday concerts will be held at two locations, starting at 7 p.m. on Saturday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Park City and at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sunday at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Heber City.
“We put our concert late because so many of the options you get during Christmas are for the first or second weekend of December, and then everything’s done and you’re like, ‘What do we do?’” said Lorraine Branham, an alto singer and founder of the Wasatch Camerata. “Ours are that last weekend right before Christmas, so we’re hoping that people will come and just bask in it, take an hour to feel the Christmas spirit and not be worried about rushing here and there.”
The back-to-back shows on Sunday in Heber are the result of high turnout for the 2024 performance.
“For last year’s concert at St. Lawrence, we had so many people show up that they were turned away at the door. I felt really bad, so we thought, well, let’s just do two concerts back-to-back,” Branham said.
The Wasatch Camerata consists of 12 singers and one pianist in matching dresses and tuxedos who will present an hour-long vocal performance.
“You see the faces of people, you’re close to the actual sound of the voices and you get to enjoy feeling intimate with it. You feel like you’re a part of it, which I think is really inviting,” Branham said.
Their program is a combination of the classical pieces associated with chamber music and popular Christmas tunes, with cast-baked treats to enjoy while socializing afterward.
The group will sing “Hodie Christus Natus Est,” a Gregorian chant from the 1500s and a traditional carol, “Maria Durch Ein Dornwald Ging,” performed in German along with holiday standards: “Jingle Bells,” “Silver Bells” and “Silent Night.”
“We’re starting with a little bit heavier things, then going to the more popular, more modern songs,” Branham said. “We try to mix in things that an audience member who isn’t as familiar with heavy choral music will like. They will enjoy hearing something new and interesting to their ears, then we include familiar things because we know not everybody wants to hear something they’ve never heard before over and over.”
Branham has been a Midway resident since 2014 and sang with the Camerata Singers of Lake Forest, Illinois, for 28 years before she moved west. She founded the Wasatch Camerata in 2022.
“I had met some of the musicians in town over the years we had been here. In talking to them, they all seemed to think there was a need for something like a camerata, which is a little more classically-oriented than other things going on in town. So we decided to give it a try, and it’s been really fun and successful,” Branham said.
Branham creates the set lists following her own intuition and suggestions from ensemble members.
“This is a group of a lot of professionals and well-experienced singers, so they listen to a lot,” Branham said. “Stephen Reynolds is a choral conductor at Wasatch High School, and Liz Jenson teaches music at Midway Elementary. Four of the singers have master’s degrees in vocal performance, so they have a lot of ideas and help with the selection. I’m kind of the final say in it, but everyone puts their favorites and their two cents into the process and usually gets something that they like.”
The Christmas shows are one of three main concerts the Wasatch Camerata performs annually. “Spiritual(s)” from this past October focused on sacred songs, and “Evensong” coming in April, has a nocturnal theme as the sun sets beyond Rising Heights Academy in Midway’s wall of west-facing windows.
“We practice once a week, and we work pretty much from late August through the end of April, then we take the summer off,” Branham said. “We have a three-concert season. It would be nice to up it, but our ensemble is full of people with families, jobs and life, so we probably will stick with three concerts per season for a while.”
The non-profit organization is a recipient of the Wasatch County Trails, Arts, and Parks and the Wasatch Arts Council grants that help cover costs like song licensing and venue insurance. The Wasatch Camerata also performs shorter sets at tree lightings, senior centers and the library to thank the community for its support.
St. Lawrence and St. Mary’s sanctuaries both feature high ceilings tuned for acoustics, and the come-as-you-are invitation stands to all.
“If you’re looking for something that will definitely bring that candlelight glow kind of feeling that you’re going to get somehow at Christmas, this will do it: beautiful music in an intimate setting with messages that are uplifting and spiritual as well as happy and loving,” Branham said. “I think people will go away feeling warm, comfortable and just feeling the Christmas spirit. I really do. I think it’s a great way to approach Christmas.”
More information is available at WasatchCamerata.com.