Monmouth Civic Chorus Brings Joy to the World Holiday Concert Scheduled for Count Basie Theatre

The sounds of the season will deck the halls of the Count Basie Theatre when the award-winning Monmouth Civic Chorus performs Joy to the World on Sunday, December 17, 2017 at 4:00 p.m.  Following the rousing success of last year’s holiday performance, the chorus will perform an expanded edition of Artistic Director Dr. Ryan James Brandau’s Christmas Suite.

Concert-goers will enjoy an array of holiday favorites including O Holy Night, Auld Lang Syne, Silent Night, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and Deck the Hall, all artistically arranged for chorus and orchestra by Brandau. Intertwined throughout the Suite will be classical stalwarts from Handel’s beloved Messiah.

The performance will take place at the historic Count Basie Theater, located at 99 Monmouth Street in Red Bank.  Tickets for premium seating are $45 adult, $40 senior, $35 group (10 or more), $10 student. Tickets for regular seating are $30 adult, $27 senior, $25 group, $5 student. Tickets and information are available at www.MonmouthCivicChorus.org or 732.933.9333.

Dr. Brandau has broad experience conducting a variety of choral and orchestral ensembles. In addition to his work with Monmouth Civic Chorus, he serves as Artistic Director of Princeton Pro Musica and Amor Artis, a chamber choir and orchestra in New York City. He is also on the faculty of Westminster Choir College, where he works with the Symphonic Choir, which he has prepared for performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and the New Jersey Symphony. He remains active as a choral arranger, composer, and clinician whose arrangements and compositions have been featured by choral ensembles across the globe. Ryan received the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the Yale School of Music. Prior to pursuing graduate study in conducting, Ryan attended the University of Cambridge in the UK as a Gates Scholar, earning an M.Phil. in historical musicology. He received his B.A. in music, magna cum laude, from Princeton University.

The Monmouth Civic Chorus has been called “near-flawless” (Asbury Park Press), “alive and evocative” (The Star-Ledger) and “superior” (Red Bank Green). The Chorus is the proud recipient of the 2008 ASCAP/Chorus America Alice Parker Award, and the 2010 Spinnaker Award for Arts and Culture from the Eastern Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce.