With fellow Americans now spending the holiday season grieving such losses, with virtually everyone else following the news coverage desperately trying to understand how and why such horrible acts are perpetrated and what might be done by all of us to prevent such atrocities, wouldn't it be inappropriate to spend several hours in musical celebration of "the most wonderful time of the year"? Because attendance was not part of my arts-critic duties, but elective, I considered skipping the Christmas concerts. Courtesy of the Houston Chamber Choir's inspiring "Christmas at the Villa" concert in the awesomely uplifting setting of the Chapel at the Villa de Matel and the Houston Symphony's exhilarating "Very Merry Pops" concert in the festively decorated Jones Hall, I experienced the sense of soul-healing only beautiful music can administer. Under the exacting and passionate leadership of Robert Simpson, this intimate 27-voice choir achieved a wondrous sound, full and perfectly balanced in fresh arrangements of varied music, from the profound "O magnum mysterium" to the ebullient Nigerian carol "Amuworo ayi otu nwa." Grammy-winning gospel artist Cynthia Clawson proved the ideal vocal soloist for the occasion, exuding simplicity and modesty as well as fervor, with a clean tone and laserlike focus in such highlights as "Stand Still and Wait" and "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming." Rising young Broadway star Ashley Brown, the program's vocal soloist, plied her versatile soprano and lush, creamy sound in a succession of memorable renditions, from a lilting "Most Wonderful Time of the Year" to a taut and stately "I Wonder as I Wander."
Source: http://www.chron.com/entertainment/article/Even-amid-tragedy-holiday-music-proves-4139253.php
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