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Hartsville, S.C. — Coker College Music presents “A Coker Christmas: Celebrate the Holidays” featuring the Coker Singers and the Coker Chamber Singers, on Sunday, December 3 at 4 p.m. at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Hartsville. Admission is free and the public is invited to attend.                                                    

Conducted by Dr. William Carswell, assistant professor of music, the concert will feature “Gloria” by John Rutter, a work for chorus, brass, percussion and organ. Other songs in the concert include “Behold a Star from Jacob Shining” by Felix Mendelssohn, “Ubi caritas” by Maurice Durufle, “Little Lamb” by Joel Phillips, and “Still, Still, Still” by Norman Luboff.

Additionally, the choirs will perform arrangements of “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” “Silent Night,” and “Angels We Have Heard on High.” Ronda McElveen, organist at First Presbyterian Church in Hartsville, is the accompanist.

Founded in 1908, the Coker Singers is the premiere choral ensemble of Coker College and is comprised of music majors and students at large. In addition to local concerts, the Coker Singers have performed in Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville, New Orleans, New York and throughout the Carolinas. The Coker Singers have recently performed at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, and in New York City at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Carnegie Hall.

The Coker Chamber Singers is the newest choral ensemble at the college. Formed in 2004, it is an auditioned choir that studies and performs choral chamber works of all musical periods.

Carswell is the director of choral and vocal studies at Coker College, teaching conducting, voice and music education. He is active as a choral clinician, guest conductor and adjudicator throughout the Southeast. Carswell is also the music director and conductor of the Columbia Choral Society. His international conducting engagements include performances in Varna, Bulgaria, Eisenstadt, Austria, London and Paris.

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November 16 , 2006