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Come to the Manger
Written By: Wiley Sloan | Issue: 2016/11 - November
Christmas is for children. We all know that.
This year all of us on the Plateau will experience a special treat. Bel Canto has made a grant to the Gordon Center for Children to start an ecumenical children’s choir. The Highlands/Cashiers Children’s Choir will be under the direction of Les Scott, minister of music at Highlands United Methodist Church, but the choir will perform at several churches in the area.
Les is joining forces with his compatriots at other area churches – Delaine Mehder, director of the Sunshine School at First Presbyterian Church; and Betty Morris, director of music at Cashiers United Methodist Church – to create an environment where children can build their musical talents while having lots of fun, too.
This year’s performance is a newly-published children’s cantata entitled “Come to the Manger” by Lynn Shaw Bailey and Becki Slagle Mayo. Rehearsals have already begun but it is not too late for your child to join the fun. Call Highlands United Methodist Church at (828) 526-3376 or email Les Scott at [email protected] to register your child. The chorus will include children from first through fifth grade.
The music of “Come to the Manger” includes five original anthems including, “O Come Little Children,” “Come, Come Emmanuel,” and “Arise, Shine, Jesus Has Come.” The program also includes narration of seven key scriptures that highlight the promised Messiah and the birth of the Christ child. Presented in a “lessons and carols” format, the audience will have a chance to sing along with some familiar Christmas carols.
Composer Shaw Bailey, the main composer of “Come to the Manger,” is well-known in the music community for her compositions for young and developing voices.
This year’s premiere performance is scheduled for 10:50 A.M. Sunday, December 4, at Highlands United Methodist Church at 315 Main Street. A performance is planned in Cashiers on that same Sunday afternoon at 3:00 P.M. at Cashiers United Methodist Church at 894 NC 107 South. A community-wide concert will be performed on December 18 at 3:30 P.M. at Highlands First Presbyterian Church. Everyone is invited to all three performances.
