Saint Vincent community welcomes holidays with 3 performances

A trio of musical performances will herald the Christmas season at Saint Vincent College. All three will begin at 7 p.m. in Saint Vincent Basilica on the Unity campus.

The schedule includes:

• Sixth Annual Festival of Lessons and Carols, performed by the Saint Vincent Camerata, Dec. 5. The Camerata comprises singers from Saint Vincent College, Seminary and Monastery and the local community.

“The Camerata was created in the spirit of the Florentine ‘Camerata di Bardi,’ a 16th-century gathering of friends dedicated to music, poetry, art and science,“ according to the college. Since 2008, it has been under the direction of Fr. Stephen Concordia, O.S.B.

Tickets to the Festival of Lessons and Carols are $12.

• Handel’s “Messiah,” performed by the Saint Vincent College Singers and Festival Choir, Dec. 7. Conductor Thomas Octave will lead the singers in the Baroque-era oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, based on text from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer.

General admission is $15. A special pre-concert benefit reception will begin at 5 p.m. in the Fred Rogers Center on campus; ticket for the reception and concert is $75.

• Saint Vincent Family Christmas Songfest, Dec. 14. Families and friends are invited to enjoy the traditional carols of the season and a sing-along with soloists, the chorus and chamber orchestra.

Tickets are $15.

Tickets for all three events can be purchased by calling 724-805-2177.