Winter Concerts to Lift and Inspire
Music to Your Ears
Community: Canby High School Choirs and Bands
By Patti Jo Brooks, Active Media
Canby High School Choir presents a full schedule of a cappella performances this holiday season! Attend a Winter Concert at the high school or plan your time to take in a public appearance of the Catalinas. A pleasure to experience, CHS Concert Choir graces the ear with clarity and precision, promising a transformative moment for all who hear. Equally talented Canby High School Band will also present a number of performances this December.
The Concert Choir has an extensive history of excellence, culminating in being named State Champions in 2023 and 2024 under the direction of Brooks Gingerich. Participants in the state championships for the past 30 years, they have placed among the top 10 numerous times.
Gingerich, who’s directed the choir for 16 years, shares the following: “The award-winning Concert Choir will be performing arguably the greatest choral piece ever written in the past 100 years: Morten Lauridsen’s ‘O Magnum Mysterium.’” As a Portland native, Lauridsen wrote this piece in 1994. Gingerich adds, “I remember singing it when I was in this choir in 2003 under the direction of my uncle, Tom Gingerich. It is so challenging, and hauntingly beautiful. It demands incredible musicianship and is so healthy to experience! Food for the soul!”
Winter Choir Concerts are set for Dec. 18–19 (7 p.m.) at the Fine Arts Center. Concerts are free to attend but can fill up fast. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The choir, (comprised of approximately 50 singers per grade level) will also feature music from Ukraine, South Africa, Spain and the Pentatonix. Dec. 18: Contra Voce (ninth-grade boys), Bella Voce (ninth-grade girls), Cantalinas (section leaders and touring chamber choir), Concert Choir (varsity choir). Dec. 19: Mixed Choir (10th-grade choir), Cantalinas Concert Choir.
The Cantalinas additional performances include both private and public events as follows: Dec. 2: Kiwanis Luncheon (private); Dec. 3: Canby Grove Luncheon (private); Dec. 3: Portland Grotto Festival of Lights (9 to 9:45 p.m.); Dec. 7: Christmas in Canby Caroling Downtown (10 to 10:40 a.m.); Dec. 8: Zion Mennonite Church Service; Dec. 10: St. Patrick’s Dinner; Dec. 11: Foursquare Church (7 p.m.); Dec 13: Bethany Church Holiday Dessert (private); Dec. 20: Winter Tour.
Canby High School Band, under the direction of Nick Luchterhand, holds their Holiday Concert on Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center. Each of the four bands: Freshman Band, Concert Band, Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band will perform separately. In addition, on Dec. 6 (7 p.m.), CHS Jazz Band will play along with the Big Horn Brass Band (a professional ensemble from Portland) at the Fine Arts Center. On Dec. 12, CHS hosts the League Jazz Festival at the Fine Arts Center, bringing together eight area schools to compete against one another. And finally, on Dec. 14 (7 p.m.), the CHS Band will perform at the Holiday Bizarre at Clackamas County Fairgrounds in the Main Pavilion.
