The Waynesboro Choral Society will present “Let’s Celebrate Christmas Again” in Waynesboro High School’s Louis B. Spilman Auditorium on Monday, Dec. 2 and Tuesday, Dec. 3.
Both performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
“One hundred percent Christmas music,” said WCS Director Don Coffey of next week’s performances, which will include modern songs heard every day on the radio during the Christmas season such as “Christmas Lullaby,” “Come and Receive,” “Christmas Day,” “Christmas Angels” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” “We’ve got it all,” he said of the family-friendly shows, which WCS members began rehearsing in mid-August 2024.
A 19-piece orchestra will accompany the singers, as well as Kelly Hughes and Orville Bame on pianos.
The 2024 Christmas season marks WCS’s 40th Christmas concert. The group formed in 1970, and Coffey joined in 1978. He became director in 1981. WCS consists of 50 local singers.
“The singers,” Coffey said are the reason for the group’s longevity. “We’re not professionals. We strive to do a professional job along the way.”
Also, the group’s choice of music has helped maintain its longevity. The group performs contemporary favorites heard on the radio with its own choral arrangements, while other local groups perform classical music.
“Songs like you would hear if you went to a Broadway show,” Coffey said of WCS.
The orchestra adds to the performance of the singers, according to Coffey, and some members of the orchestra are professional musicians.
“I think this is some of the best music we’ve had in a decade,” Coffey said of “Let’s Celebrate Christmas Again.”
Monya Decker, who serves as the group’s president, and her husband have sung with WCS since 2016. She said the first half of next week’s performances will be fun, traditional songs such as “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Winter Wonderland.” The group will also perform a different arrangement of “Silent Night.”
“It’s a song that’s popular, but we do it differently,” Decker of Swoope said.
She said she loves Christmas time, and loves singing Christmas music and bringing Christmas cheer to the community.
“I think it’s a great way to kick off the season.”
Tickets are available for purchase by check or cash from any member of the Waynesboro Choral Society, at the door both nights and at the Waynesboro Landscape & Garden Center on Main Street. Tickets are $15 per person. Children 12 years old and younger will be admitted for free.
Waynesboro High School is at 1200 W. Main St., Waynesboro.
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Rebecca Barnabi
