Destination . . .
Chorale Bel Canto
By Linda de
Vries, Singer and Chair of the Board
Love classical choral music? Think Chorale Bel Canto.
Seldom or never listen to classical choral music? Think
again.
On December 7 think the City of Whittier at 4:00 p.m.
or 7:30 p.m., where Chorale Bel Canto will sing Christmas with
Chorale Bel Canto at the East Whittier United Methodist Church, 10005
S. Cole Road. This year our holiday concert features Vivaldi’s Gloria
as well as new arrangements of Christmas music by Edward Zeliff, a southern
California composer and arranger. Mr. Zeliff and members of his choir will be
in attendance in the audience. The concert will also include the popular
feature of sing-along carols.
Think Whittier is too far to drive for just a concert? Think
again.
“Destination . . . Chorale Bel Canto” posts several times in
advance of each of our concerts, offering you ideas for a different day trip
to the city in which we’re singing, with a Chorale Bel Canto concert at the
center of your experience. These trips appeal to a wide variety of interests
and share fascinating, sometimes intricate, connections between the city and
the music.
A Time for Gifting
Leading up to our Christmas concert we’ve written about the music we're singing and we've suggested several
different ways in which you might wish to spend your day in Whittier and
surrounding areas. You can scroll down through past posts to review these
options:
- Enjoying the annual Whittier Christmas Parade
- Fishing, pedal boating, walking, and picnicking at Legg Lake and the Whittier Narrows Recreation Center
- Preparing Holiday food gifts and touring the historic homes at the Homestead Museum in the next-door City of Industry
- Traveling back in time to Mexican California by visiting the San Gabriel Mission, the Sanchez Adobe, and Pio Pico State Park
- Experiencing Asian serenity by visiting the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple in Hacienda Heights
The focus of this post is giving thanks and giving and
receiving gifts. Whittier and Chorale Bel Canto offer unique ways in which you
can find that special offering to a friend or a family member. In addition to
our gift of exquisite holiday music, we have a special gift for you!
Where to Shop for Gifts
Uptown Whittier has many one-of-a-kind boutiques
where you can find everything from Apparel to Mike’s “Z” Shop--gifts for your avid reader,
trendy teen, vintage clothing fan, cigar aficionado, tiny tot, cyclist, Mexican
import lover, vinyl LP collector, art lover, classic car enthusiast, crafter .
. . everyone on your list!
Uptown also has a number of great places to find antiques--A
to Z Mart, King Richard’s Antique Center, Philadelphia Street Antiques, Uptown
Antiques, Yellow Pie Antiques, Chiefs Roadside Antiques, American Antiques and
Collectibles, Rodeo Durango, Sunshine Antique, Virginia’s Antiques, Royal
Antique Center, and Elegant Elephant.
And don’t forget antiques stores, second-hand emporiums, and
great junk shops in the neighboring cites of Pico Rivera and La Habra!
The Quad at Whittier, sited at the intersection of
Whittier Boulevard and Painter Avenue, boasts Old Navy, Anna’s Linens,
Burlington Coat Factory, Staples, Michaels, Radio Shack, TJ Maxx, and many
more.
Whittwood Town Center, further east on Whittier
Boulevard at Santa Gertrudes (very near the Chorale concert venue), offers J.C.
Penny, Target, Sears, Kohl’s, Cost Plus World Market, See’s Candies, and many
more small boutiques. It is home to more than 50 stores. In addition, there are
numerous places to enjoy lunch or dinner located in this shopping and dining
village.
New!
Artists of the Chorale. Many of our singers
have multiple talents and engage in other arts in addition to music. We have
many crafters, too! This year for the first time Chorale Bel Canto offers
lovely handmade gifts created by our singers as well as our own totes, mugs, and cookbooks. We are also selling very special fruitcakes. Come to hear the magnificent and moving Christmas music and stay to complete
your Christmas shopping! Ten percent of each purchase goes to support the
mission of the Chorale.
You may also want to give the gift of more beautiful
music. Buy tickets to future concerts for your friends and family! Buy tickets
for them to this Christmas concert online right after you read this
post!
How to Give a Gift to the Chorale
Yes, we are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and
donations are necessary for us to afford to bring this music to you and
maintain a reasonable ticket price, so we always welcome your monetary gifts.
Now, however, we suggest some nifty ways to help the
Chorale that will not cost you a penny! If you shop online, join the
Amazon Smile program and a certain percentage
of every purchase you make goes to support the Chorale if you designate it as
your charity of choice. Just google “Amazon Smile” and follow the simple steps.
The real beauty part is that you can change your charitable designation
whenever you want, so maybe you give to the Chorale for six months and then
another charity of your choice for the next six months—spread the wealth!
You can donate to the Chorale in the same way by
joining the Ralphs Rewards program and
designating the Chorale as your charity of choice. The food on your table
supports classical choral music!
How to Get the Gift the Chorale has for You
We want you to become a member of the Chorale Bel
Canto family and attend all of our concerts. We want to keep you posted on all
the Chorale events. We want you to subscribe to our bi-monthly newsletter,
which keeps you up to date on Chorale activities and delights you with “Chorale
Offstage,” highlighting other performances and community activities of our
singers and conductors. We want you to follow our blog, where we post not only
“Destination . . . Chorale Bel Canto," but in-depth background articles on the
music we sing and the artists who present it.
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