In what has become a Christmas tradition at BYU-Idaho and in the Rexburg community, “A BYU-Idaho Christmas” returns to campus with guest performers Frederica Von Stade and the Sonos Handbell Ensemble.
The performance will take place on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. and is a part of the Center Stage event series which highlights artists performing at the BYU-Idaho Center.
Von Stade and the ensemble are the final performers of the season for BYU-Idaho's Center Stage performance series. Other performers this season included Del Parkinson, Anne of Green Gables—The Ballet, Artrageous and William Hagen.
Dale Hillier, Center Stage and Performance Tours Specialist at BYU-Idaho, spoke with BYU-Idaho Radio about the upcoming Christmas concert.
“It’s going to be your standard Christmas carols performed in a marvelous way,” Hillier said of the concert, describing Von Stade—the concert’s headliner—as “a major name in music by any stretch.”
The versatile singer and six-time Grammy nominee has performed around the world, receiving widespread praise from music critics. The New York Times music review called her “one of America’s finest artists and singers.”
Von Stade will be joined on stage by the Sonos Handbell Ensemble, a San Francisco-based group that’s been performing since 1990.
“Their real talent is that their timing is such, the precision that they perform is such, that although they can have many bells playing at one time… it almost sounds as if there’s only one bell playing,” Hillier said of the group.
The Sonos Handbell Ensemble continues the long-time tradition of Christmas handbell music masterfully, and they’re a highly anticipated part of the 350-plus group of performers set to take stage on Dec. 7.
The concert will also feature the BYU-Idaho Orchestra and all the major choirs from the school, as well as performers from the school’s dance and theatre departments.
Tickets for “A BYU-Idaho Christmas” are $7 for BYU-Idaho students and $12 for the general public. Tickets are available through the University Store Ticket Office, by calling 208-496-3170, or online.