PORTLAND — The Choral Art Society will ring in the holiday season with their traditional Christmas at the Cathedral concert series. Performances will be at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, and at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8. A preview performance will take place on at noon Saturday, Dec. 7. All concerts will be held at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 307 Congress Street. CAS Music Director Robert Russell will conduct.

For the 26th year, the Portland Brass Quintet will join the Choral Art Society for the celebration by joining in on some pieces and providing humorous renditions of other holiday favorites.

Among the works on the program is Benjamin Britten’s “A Ceremony of Carols,” in honor of the 100th anniversary of Britten’s birth. Britten composed “A Ceremony of Carols” in 1942, on a return trip to England after living in the United States for three years. Despite the dreary winter voyage, Britten’s carols are full of joy, deceptively simple in their praise of God. Britten infused centuries-old text with new meaning to create a mood that is both ancient and modern.

Advance tickets range from $22-$35 and can be purchased at www.choralart.org or in local stores. Tickets for the preview performance are available only at the door and are $12 each, $5 for 21 and under.


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