The Many Moods of Christmas

Robert Shaw’s “The Many Moods of Christmas” meshes together pieces of 18 of the most traditional carols combined with music from famous composers such as Handel, Bizet and Bach.

Renowned choral conductor Craig Jessop will lead the Grand Valley State University Arts Chorale and local high school students as they perform the piece during a special Fall Arts Celebration concert.

“Celebrating Holiday Splendor: Craig Jessop Conducts ‘The Many Moods of Christmas’” will take place Dec. 3, at 7:30 p.m., at Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids (24 Fountain Street NE). The concert is free and open to the public.

Jessop, professor of music and founding dean of the Cain College of the Arts at Utah State University, is the former director of the world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He led the ensemble as a featured conductor during the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

“Craig Jessop is a true American treasure, and he is without doubt one of the foremost expert choral conductors and choral interpreters in the world today,” said Danny Phipps, chair of Grand Valley’s Music, Theatre, and Dance Department. “I am very excited that our students will have an opportunity to work with this legendary conductor because those who remain in the fields of choral performance or choral education will never forget working with him, nor will audiences forget that they heard the ‘Many Moods’ conducted by one of the most accomplished and celebrated Choral conductors in America today.”

For more information about Fall Arts Celebration, visit gvsu.edu/fallarts.

Kariamu and Company: Traditions — A Celebration of African Dance (photo supplied)

By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University

For the past 15 years, West Michigan audiences have enjoyed a series of six free events every fall at Grand Valley that celebrate the positive impact of the arts. President Thomas J. Haas said these events are offered as gifts to the local community that has supported the evolution of the university.

“Each year, these six diverse and free events provide us with the opportunity to thank the West Michigan community for its continued support of the performing arts at Grand Valley, and the university as a whole,” said Haas. “The arts lift us up, make us think and provide an endless variety of entertainment and enrichment, and we hope others will join us in celebrating the richness of the worlds of poetry, dance, art, music and more this fall.”

Here are the upcoming Fall Arts Celebration events for November and December. For more event details, go here.

Kariamu and Company: Traditions — A Celebration of African Dance

Nov. 12, at 7:30 pm
Location: Louis Armstrong Theatre, Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus

Kariamu Welsh is a Guggenheim award–winning dance scholar, choreographer, educator and the founder of the Umfundalai technique. For the past 40 years, Welsh has developed Umfundalai as a contemporary dance technique that seeks to articulate the essence of African-oriented movement while highlighting the cultural and aesthetic continuity found in the rhythm and artistic sensibilities that cover the full range of African dance. As an “artivist,” Welsh feels that one of her responsibilities is to tell the stories, myths, legends and histories of the marginalized, invisible, forgotten and oppressed. Welsh is currently a professor of dance in the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University.

Celebrating Holiday Splendor: Craig Jessop Conducts “The Many Moods of Christmas”

Dec. 3, at 7:30 pm
Location: Fountain Street Church, 24 Fountain Street NE, Grand Rapids

Robert Shaw’s “The Many Moods of Christmas” meshes pieces of 18 of the most traditional carols combined with music from composers such as Handel, Bizet and Bach. Renowned choral conductor Craig Jessop will lead the GVSU Arts Chorale and local high school students for this special holiday celebration concert. Jessop, professor of music and founding dean of the Cain College of the Arts at Utah State University, is the former director of the world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He led the ensemble as a featured conductor during the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.