Concert
Choir’s Magic of Christmas
Celebrates
Jesus’ Birth December 2
By Jim Day
Wonder, mystery,
miracles, joy and magic – all words that describe the Christmas season.
This year, the St. Louis Concert Choir presents a musical celebration
that centers on that magical message. The Magic
of Christmas will be presented twice on Saturday, December 2, at the Pillsbury
Chapel in the Dale Williams Fine Arts Center on the campus of Missouri Baptist
University in west St. Louis County. 
The
production is a joy-filled Christmas celebration for the whole family.
Employing beautiful choral and solo music, elegant dance, joyful children,
creative staging, dramatic storytelling, and state-of-the-art sound and lighting,
this year’s annual Christmas production is designed to warm every heart and
bring the magic of Christmas to all. The St. Louis Concert Choir brings together
a cast of over 70 of the metro area’s brightest and best singers, dancers,
actors and kids to share the familiar songs of Christmas, the carols that
we all love, the story of the Baby in the manger, and the delight that this
holiday brings to young and old.
Celebrating
their tenth anniversary, the St. Louis Concert Choir, under the direction of
veteran conductor, Bob Pickett, is a community choir of Christian musicians
from all across the Greater St. Louis area.
Representing nearly 30 different churches, the Choir rehearses monthly
at Grace Church – St. Louis in Maryland Heights. This enthusiastic group of
dedicated and talented singers will join forces with the Ekklesia
Contemporary Dance Company and the Ekklesia Kids
under the direction of choreographer, Christina McArthur, to present a concert
of favorite Christmas music, old and new.
The Magic of
Christmas will have something for everyone.
As the audience has a chance to reflect on their favorite Christmas
memories, they will laugh and cheer, nod in agreement and perhaps shed a tear,
and sing along with the Choir on thrilling arrangements of music that will touch
the heart. The program also includes a
trip to Bethlehem to meet the eyewitnesses to the birth of Jesus, each one
sharing their insights from the encounter with the Savior, as the actors and
Choir present the music from their recent CD, It’s a Boy! and a living nativity scene.
Audiences
will be treated to the vocal and dramatic talents of America’s premiere
biblical actor, Ken Lee. Mr. Lee, a
resident of St. Charles, MO, is back with the Choir as special guest artist,
member of The Three Tenors, and dramatic director for the production. His ability to entertain and evoke laughter
from an audience is legendary and this year he skillfully plays multiple roles
including the audience favorite, Shammuah the
shepherd. For over 30 years, Mr. Lee has
traveled the country presenting his one-man dramatic sketches of biblical
characters with humor and power and he also conducts summer drama workshops in
the St. Louis area through his Logos school.
Joining Mr. Lee are two other powerful tenor vocalists, Brian Flanagan,
soloist and songwriter from Florissant, MO, and Brian Brown, popular Nashville
vocalist and studio artist whose memorable solo performance in Let Freedom Ring was the highlight of
the Concert Choir’s production of Red,
White & Blue Christmas. Mr.
Brown will be featured in the role of Joseph and Mr. Flanagan portrays the Wise
Man and both join Mr. Lee singing as The Three Tenors.
Adding a
whole new dimension to the production is special guest, Ken Turner, world-class
magician who will leave the audience scratching their heads with his sleight of
hand and major illusions. Ken travels
the world doing programs and corporate conventions through
CEO Productions based in St. Charles, MO and has shared the stage with
many popular performers. This program
will be magical!
The Magic of Christmas features a
program of musical Christmas favorites including songs recorded on the group’s
last two albums, Exceeding Great Joy!
and Christmas: A
Timeless Treasure, and new powerful songs that touch the heart.
The St. Louis
Concert Choir, along with the Concert Choir Ensemble, the Ekklesia
Kids, and the Brotherhood men’s chorus are all featured on the program, singing
classic carols and standards including 
It’s
the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Sleigh
Ride, Carol of the Bells, O Come All Ye Faithful, Amen, the stirring Grammy-nominated, You Raise Me Up, and Dove-Award winner,
We Have Overcome. The Ensemble reprises the audience favorite,
Deck the Halls Through
the Decades portraying numerous American musical icons of the 20th century.
Combine the
talents of the Concert Choir and Ensemble, the Three Tenors - whose powerful
voices will fill the house, and the graceful dance
troupe from Ekklesia, the rich vocals of the Brotherhood
men’s chorus, the energetic Ekklesia Kids chorus, the
magic and the live nativity and there’s more variety than one can handle.
The Magic of Christmas will be presented
two times at the beautiful Pillsbury Chapel at the Dale Williams Fine Arts
Center on the campus of Missouri Baptist University, at Mason Road and US Highway
40 in west Saint Louis County. Curtain times are 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday,
December 2. There is ample free parking
and tickets are available by calling 1-800-993-SING (7464), or by contacting
any member of the Choir. Singers
interested in joining this on-going community choir are invited to contact Mr.
Pickett at (636) 926-0701.
The St. Louis
Concert Choir is a project of Concert Ministries, Inc. (CMI), of Orlando,
Florida, and one of America’s foremost Christian producers, Thurlow
Spurr. Concert Ministries Inc. has sponsored similar
Choirs in Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, New York, and New Jersey,
and is in their 34th season of presenting concerts in Michigan and Ohio.
Involved in more than just making music, in June of this year, CMI took a team
of volunteers for the second consecutive year to the Bahamas to give practical
help to victims of the numerous hurricanes that pummeled the island nation in
the past two years. In July 2003 CMI put together a team of 250
singers and musicians from across the country and across the island state -
including several members of the St. Louis Concert Choir - to travel to Hawaii
and present a patriotic concert with famed inspirational recording artist, Larnelle Harris, at the Waikiki Shell. In 2000, the team traveled to Jerusalem to
present the musical David - A Man After God’s Own Heart in the historic Citadel of
David on the wall of the Old City of Jerusalem. At the invitation of the
Bethlehem city council, they also presented a concert entitled Christmas in June in Manger Square - the
historic site of Christ’s birth - to help mark that city’s year-long
celebration of the 2000th anniversary of Jesus’ birth. The St. Louis Concert Choir was birthed out
of a similar tour in 1996 featuring 600 singers and many of America’s top
Christian recording artists.
Bob Pickett,
founder, producer and director of the Choir, has conducted Choirs across the
USA for over 30 years, traveling for six years and conducting 2000 concerts
with the Festival of Praise Choir, directing the Grace Choir and Grace Singers
at Grace Church – St. Louis for over nine years, and rehearsing and organizing
the 200-voice choirs for performances of The
Young Messiah Tour and The Emmanuel Tour,
and the Ensemble for The My Utmost For His
Highest Tour, as they appeared in St. Louis at the Kiel Center, the Arena,
and Riverport Amphitheater. In 2004 he was guest
conductor at his alma mater for the Heidelberg College Alumni Choir and
co-director of the St. Louis Worship Choir for the National Day of Prayer
Concert of Prayer television broadcast.
He currently serves as Associate Pastor and choir director at Grace
Church.
In addition
to the Concert Choir and the guest artists, The
Magic of Christmas will also feature soloists: Lisa Rogerson
and newcomer Nicole Roberts both from St. Louis, MO; Debbie Ross of Wright
City, MO; Lori Fleener Tolan
of Florissant, MO; Lesley Bridges of Sullivan, MO; Madeline Williams of St.
Charles, MO; new comer Terry Lolling of O’Fallon, MO: Jerome Rogers of Alorton,
IL and Joe Tolan of Collinsville, IL.
