Sheepscot Chorus invites you to join in as the group begin rehearsals for the Saturday, Dec. 5 and Sunday, Dec. 6 Boothbay Harbor holiday concerts. The featured work: Joseph Haydn's charming "St. Nicholas Mass," performed with orchestra, and conducted by artistic director Linda Blanchard.

"Missa Sancti Nicolai" was written for the Dec. 6 Feast of St. Nicholas nameday of Haydn's patron, Prince Nicolaus Esterházy, and was one of the first vocal works that Haydn composed. The short mass setting has intimate, cozy instrumentation and lilting melodies that call to mind Christmas and pastoral music. Haydn painted a picture of the shepherds in the fields with the warm and rustic sounds of folk instruments.

Holiday pops favorites will round out the second half of the program. Co-director and accompanist Sean Fleming has a knack for bringing together top-notch musicians for our holiday pops orchestra, sure to set toes tapping!

Rehearsals are lively, challenging, and rewarding. Chorus members range from newly-minted singers to seasoned performers. Singers are provided practice materials to use at home, so singers can come to rehearsals feeling prepared and ready to go! The Chorus rehearses on Tuesday nights, starting with Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 28 High St., Wiscasset, next to the Wiscasset District Court.

For more information, please contact info@sheepscotvalleychorus.org, 207-563-6160, or visit facebook.com/sheepscotchorus and sheepscotvalleychorus.org.