CONTACT: Leslie Eikleberry, Director of Public Relations, 785-827-5541 ext. 1127

December 3, 2004

Some of the most beautiful Christmas music will be performed at Kansas Wesleyan University this holiday season.

The university’s traditional Christmas choral concert, Christmas By Candlelight, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. December 12 in Sams Chapel. The concert is open to the public at no charge. A reception, sponsored by the Kansas Wesleyan University Alumni Association, will follow.

The theme for this year’s concert is “In the Bleak Midwinter.”

“For our Christmas program, I usually develop a concert based around one composition. This year’s work is Harold Darke’s ‘In the Bleak Midwinter,’ said Ken Hakoda, KWU Choral Music Director The text of the composition tells the story of Jesus’s birth and the modern reflection of the event. The last line of text, ‘What can I give him, Give my heart!’ is the climax of the composition.”

The concert will feature the KWU Philharmonic Choir, the Wesleyan Chorale, and the KWU Hand Bell Choir. Special guest choirs invited to perform include the Sacred Heart High School Choir and the Ellsworth Singers.