Concert | Prairieland Voices Holiday Concert Celebrate Christmas with music from the French Renaissance at the annual
PrairieLand Voices Holiday Concert. The concert, titled Joyeux Noël, features Messe de Minuit pour Noël, is a 40-minute mass composed by Marc-Antoine Chapentier. The piece is based on
Christmas carols from the 16th century that are set to the text of the mass and includes an organ, strings and
flutes. The result is a surprisingly celebratory piece for issues that are very sober in
nature, such as God for forgiveness and mercy. The second half of the concert
features carols that influenced the mass. French Noels played on the organ will
be interspersed with four French carols Joseph est bien marié a la fille de Jessé, Kyrie eleison,Une jeune pucelle de noble cœur, Vous qui dèsirez sans fin ouir chanter, À minuit. The light from candelabras on the pews and the smell of evergreen trees makes it
the perfect place to get into the holiday spirit.
Prairieland Voices
Joyeux Noël
Sunday Dec. 14
Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul
815 S. Second St.
www.prairielandvoices.com
5:30 p.m.
$10
Storytelling | Ira Glass Famed Public Radio host Ira Glass travels the world reporting on the quirkiest
people he encounters during his journeys. Glass’ stories have become so popular the TV version of his show This American Life is now on Showtime and he has also appeared on David Letterman. He considers
himself a reporter on life and many find his stories just as comedic as they
are informative. His creative and lively storytelling captures audiences giving
them a glimpse into the lives of offbeat characters and their everyday
struggles. Glass tackles issues that raise questions, from an evangelical
pastor who lost his entire congregation because he stopped believing in hell, a
chicken advocate who keeps runaway chickens on a farm, to a mysterious amulet
in Pakistan that led to an expensive game of “shoot the chicken.” The collage of stories is a reflection on humanity and the craziness we have in
common.
Ira Glass: Radio Stories
and Other Stories
Saturday Dec. 13
Sangamon Auditorium
UIS
217-206-6160
www.sangamonauditorium.org
8 p.m.
$37-$42
Concert | Madrigal Dinner After 30 years of hosting the Madrigal Dinner, the folks at Lincoln Land
Community College still get excited about planning the holiday event. Each year’s Madrigal has a unique theme – this year is Scottish history and includes
bagpipe players and Scottish dancers. Renaissance banners, pine roping and
candles help to create the 16th century atmosphere, a magician and jugglers add to the festivities. The
madrigal concert features music from the 16th century, sung by 18 singers dressed in authentic period costumes. The singers
are enrolled in the Madrigal Singers music class and the concert is their final
exam. They are graded on their performance of the Twelve Days of Christmas, Deck the Halls, Silent Night and other traditional Christmas carols. While listening to the music, attendees
dine on a four-course meal that includes wassail, potato soup, grilled chicken
and an apple tart for dessert.
Lincoln Land
Madrigal Dinner
Fri.-Sun. Dec. 12-14
Lincoln Land
Community College
217-786-2762
Fri.-Sat. 6:30 p.m.
Sun. 4:30 p.m.
$27
Concert | Merry Tubas When it is announced that A Merry TubaChristmas is being planned, tuba players
come out of the woodwork to celebrate the holidays. The event was created in
1974 by Harvey Phillips and this year’s 35th anniversary is being celebrated with more than 200 performances in cities
throughout the U.S. and several foreign countries. Donn Cranson, UIS director
of bands, is directing both Springfield Merry TubaChristmas concerts and hopes
to have at least 20 tuba and euphonium/baritone players from around the state
show up to take part in this one of a kind event. The concert features traditional carols like Deck the Halls,O Come all Ye Faithful, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, It Came Upon A Midnight Clear, arranged specifically for the first Merry TubaChristmas in 1974.
A Merry TubaChristmas
Saturday Dec. 13
Abraham Lincoln
Presidential Museum
212 N. Sixth St.
1 p.m. museum admission
Old State Capitol Steps
2 p.m. free
217-206-7549
BAND SPOTLIGHT | Dirty Ernies This week Illinois Times debuts a new feature on our Pub Crawl page. Each week we’ll spotlight a different performer from the listings with a photo and
description. Inaugurating our latest attraction is none other than the Dirty
Ernies, pictured here kicking out the jams at IT’s Best of Springfield party held at Celtic Mist to celebrate the winners of the
popular annual popularity contest. The Dirty Ernies, who tied with F5 for 2008
Best Cover Band honors, are playing this weekend (and almost every weekend) so
they seemed a logical first choice for our latest effort to spread the word
about all the great live music available every week in central Illinois.
Dirty Ernies
Saturday Dec. 13
Riverside Rock n’ Roll
6111 Mechanicsburg Rd.
10pm-2am
www.myspace.com/thedirtyernies
This article appears in Dec 4-10, 2008.
