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"Music always adds to the holiday season, and we’re happy to be able to offer several opportunities for the public to enjoy it, while at the same time providing our students and faculty an opportunity to share their talents," said Susan Marchant, chair of the PSU Music Department. "We hope that our audiences will enjoy attending them as much as we've enjoyed preparing them."
Winter Holidays musical luncheon
The Pittsburg State University Choirs and Friends will present “Winter Holidays,” a musical luncheon, from noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 1, in the Crimson & Gold Ballroom of the Overman Student Center. It will serve as a fundraiser to benefit the choral program and is open to both the campus and the community.
Tickets must be purchased by Nov. 22 by contacting Choral Director Susan Marchant via voicemail at 620-235-4467 or e-mail at smarchant@pittstate.edu
It will be a departure from the Holiday Luncheon of recent years, instead following the format of the September choir dinners, with one exception: it will be a buffet rather than a served meal. Musical performances will take place throughout the room. Singers will be fully masked and safely distanced from patrons.
Doors will open at 11:45 a.m. and musical performances will take place from noon to 1 p.m.
The ticket price of $18 includes a donation to the choir. Entire tables may be reserved for groups of 6 to 8 individuals.
Timmons Music Concert
The long-running Timmons Music Concert will be a bit different this year; usually held in person, this year it will be recorded at the historic chapel, located by the University Lake, on Nov. 28 and Nov. 29. The recordings will be available for viewing on the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts’ Facebook page and at pittstate.tv at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 1 and Dec. 3.
From their inception more than 50 years ago, the free holiday concerts have been a showcase for Timmons Chapel, a Gothic-style, all-faiths chapel completed in 1966 as a gift to the university from longtime benefactor Beth Spiva Timmons. The music is performed by students, faculty and members of the community.
Details: 620-235-4466
Holiday Extravaganza
The Southeast Kansas Symphony will perform its annual Holiday Extravaganza on Dec. 2 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts, 1711 S. Homer St.
Directed by music professor Raul Munguia, it will include selections of traditional holiday favorites by the Symphony and a collaboration with the newly appointed professor of voice, Lydia Bechtel, performing works by Mozart, Irvin Berlin, Pietro Yon, and a traditional Spanish Zarzuela.
This year’s concert also will include, for the first time, dancers from Elizabeth Hayes’ and Yana Feldman’s classes in the Pittsburg State Dance Department.
Selections from the Nutcracker will feature graduate student conductor Thomas Smith.
The Bells of the Balkans Ensemble, led by Janis Saket, will welcome the audience with a short performance in the lobby.
Tickets: $15 adults, $12 senior/children, and free for those with a valid PSU ID.
Details: 620-235-4472
Holly Jolly Tubas
Now an annual event, the Holly Jolly Tubas, directed by music professor Doug Whitten, will perform in a free concert at noon on Dec. 11 in the lobby of the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts.
Holly Jolly Tubas will feature tuba and euphonium players from all over Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, the North Pole, and perhaps a few other states, Whitten said. The playlist will include traditional Christmas carols and the audience is encouraged to sing along.
All tuba, baritone, and euphonium players are invited to perform and decorate their instruments with tinsel, ornaments, and lights; registration for musicians will begin at 10 a.m. Cost for musicians is $10 and includes all music, light refreshments, a 2021 souvenir button.
Details: 620-235-4070
