The Music Department at Mesa Community College (MCC)—Red Mountain is pleased to present the Sun Valley Chorale Christmas Concert, on Dec. 8, at 7:30 p.m., at the Saguaro Building RAP Center, room S140.
The chorale’s concert repertoire will include everything from Alfred Burt carols, to The Lamb by John Tavener, to The 12 Days of Christmas, which was arranged for the King’s Singers by Geoffrey Keating. The concert, featuring Michael Lewis and Gail Novak at the piano, also will include an audience sing-along of well-known songs of the season. To conclude the concert, the chorale will perform a group of Christmas carols arranged by Dan Forrest and Jack Schrader. There will be a reception to follow.
The concert is open to the public, with a suggested $5 donation to the scholarship fund.
The Sun Valley Chorale, a community chorus offered as a class through Mesa Community College, is enjoying its eighth season at the Red Mountain campus. The chorale has been in existence for nearly 30 years, but has only been at the Red Mountain campus for the past seven years.
This group consists of members of the Mesa community from all walks of life and all ages, ranging from young college age students to senior citizens. They rehearse every Tuesday night during the MCC academic year, at 7:10 p.m. Enrollment is open to all in the community, and new members are most welcome. If you sang in your high school, college, or you sing in your church choir, the Sun Valley Chorale is a perfect outlet for displaying your talents.
Frank Sargent, a long-time resident of Red Mountain Ranch, conducts the Sun Valley Chorale. Frank taught in Gilbert Public Schools for 10 years before retiring in 2013. Before coming to Arizona, he taught in Texas for 30 years, with 21 of those years being at Highland Park High School, in Dallas, where he oversaw a choral program of 315 students.
Frank was well known in the professional music scene in North Texas, having conducted members from both the Dallas Opera Orchestra and Dallas Symphony Orchestra while he served as director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Chorus. He also has been the choral director in a number of churches for 35 years, and currently serves as the choir director at Apache Wells Community Church, in Mesa. He also has served in leadership capacities in both Texas and Arizona, having served on the board of the Arizona Choral Educators and as president of the Arizona Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association.
For more information regarding either the concert or membership, please contact the Mesa Community College Music Department office at (480) 461-7575.