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International cello sensation, Francisco Vila and Armenian-born pianist Ashot Khachatourian will present “Vila & Khachatourian in Recital,” a concert of classical works by Bach, Beethoven and Chopin Dec. 7 at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Indialantic. (Photo: Submitted photos)
Musical treat
Take an Ecuadorian cello sensation and an Armenian-born, Belgium-based pianist and put them together in Indialantic and you have yourself a perfect evening for lovers of classical music.
Cellist Francisco Vila, who was born in Ecuador, grew up on the Space Coast and now resides in Los Angeles, will join pianist Ashot Khachatourian for “Vila & Khachatourian in Recital” at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7, at Eastminster Presbyterian Church at 106 N. Riverside Drive, Indialantic, for a concert of classical works by Bach, Beethoven and Chopin.
Vila is co-founder of Ecuador’s Festival International de Música de Esmeraldas and serves on the faculty at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He performs on a fine 1790 cello crafted by Vincenzo Panormo.
Recording artist and pianist Ashot Khachatourian is the creator and artistic director of the Belgian YSAYE International Music Competition and comes from a musical family. His great uncle, Aram Khachaturian, was one of the foremost composers of the 20th century, whose music bore the stamp of his Armenian roots. Ashot has earned his own celebrity as one of the world’s foremost interpreters of the concertos of Rachmaninov.
Tickets are $20 at the door for general admission and $15 for seniors.
Call 321-23-8371 for more information.
Let the hymns begin
Performer, conductor, educator and composer Michael Burkhardt visits Brevard for a special holiday hymn festival, “Savior of the Nations, Come” at 3 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 8, at Advent Lutheran Church, 7550 North Wickham Road, Suntree.
The program will feature a massed choir from area churches and audience participation in the singing of favorite hymns dating back hundreds of years. The hymn festival is named after a 4th century hymn of the same name.
Joining Burkhardt will be a 45-member choir and church organist and choir director Betty Jo Couch. A brass quartet and handbell choir will also lend their musical talents to the festival.
The program is free. For more information, call 321-426-9378.
Holidays with the Marksteins
Igor Markstein, Space Coast Symphony concertmaster emeritus, wants you to relax and take it easy during the holiday season, so he has thoughtfully orchestrated for his Markstein Quartet to perform a free concert at 3 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 8, at the Catherine Schweinsberg Good Central Library, 308 Forrest Ave., Cocoa.
Joining Markstein in the music-making is Space Coast Symphony Concertmaster, Carey Moorman, cellist Joan Markstein and Joni Roos on violin. “Holidays with the Markstein Quartet” features classical and popular Christmas and Chanukah-themed music in an intimate setting.
For more information, call 321-633-1792.
The band plays on
Community Band of Brevard’s annual holiday concert is a local favorite that returns at 3 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 8, at Merritt Island High School Auditorium, 100 Mustang Way, off North Courtenay Parkway.
Led by conductor Marion Scott, “A Holiday Concert” includes selections such as Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas,” as well as “Stars and Stripes for Christmas” by John Phillip Sousa.
Expect a full house, so dawdle not and arrive early.
For more details, call 321-258-5580 or see CommunityBandOfBrevard.com.
Bring on the holiday music
Riverside Presbyterian Church, 3400 N. Atlantic Ave., again delivers on its
Music Church” nickname this holiday season with “An Old-Fashioned Christmas,” a free concert at 3:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 8.
The concert will showcase traditional Christmas songs and carols performed by the Indialantic Chamber Singers and the Brevard Youth Chorus, under the direction of Beth Green and Joani Slawson, conductors for the Indialantic Chamber Singers and Brevard Youth Chorus, respectively.
Admission is free, but tickets are required. Reserve online at RiversidePres.org or by calling 321-525-7825. Arrive early for best seating.
Sing We Now of Christmas
Brevard Chorale’s Christmas celebration, “Sing We Now of Christmas,” is a treat for music lovers, given that if features a 60-voice group, flutes and piano accompaniment to classical, traditional and modern holiday favorites.
The concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Simpkins Fine Arts Auditorium at Eastern Florida State College 1519 Clearlake Road, Cocoa. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students. For more information, call 321-501-0833 or visit BrevardChorale.org.
Blue Christmas
For individuals experiencing loss of loved ones, financial woes, relationship problems and other issues, blue, not red, is the color of Christmas. People going through the “holiday blues” can find solace in a special “Blue Christmas” service at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 11, at Suntree United Methodist Church, 7400 N. Wickham Road. In recent years, the church has emerged as a leader among Brevard faith communities in the area of commitment to mental health.
The service will feature quiet, reflective music, comforting scripture readings and the lighting of candles for loved ones.
For more information, call 321-242-2585 or visit SuntreeUnitedMethodist.org.
Sing along
The Indialantic Chamber Singers and the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra invite the community to join them for the 12th. Annual “Messiah Sing-Along,” a free Christmas spectacular at 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 6, at Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Community, 5655 Stadium Parkway, Viera.
The Indialantic Chamber Singers will be accompanied by members of the Symphony, with featured soloists from the community in a program that includes both sacred and secular favorites. The public is invited to sing or simply listen.
“When an entire auditorium of 600 singers launch into the Hallelujah chorus, there is nothing like it for sheer energy and joy,” said Symphony conductor Aaron Collins.
While admission is free, a donation is requested to help cover event costs. For more information, call 855-252-7276 or visit SpaceCoastSymphony.org.
Carols a la Quartet
Melbourne Municipal Band’s Adagio Sax Quartet brings a program of traditional Christmas carols and modern holiday tunes to its holiday concert at 3 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 8, at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, 1903 Croton Road, Melbourne.
The sax is a very adaptable instrument that has held a key position in jazz and rock for decades. A sax quartet playing classical or pop music has been likened to a pipe organ in rich textures of the sounds and harmonies.
The concert is free, but a $10 donation is suggested.
For more information, call 321-501-3722.
Speaking of sax
Well-known saxophonist Dan Wilborn, who has played with groups such as The Puzzlers and The DanRonic Project, has assembled a quintet of musical friends for the Space Coast Jazz Society’s concert at 2 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 8, at Rockledge Country Club, 1591 S. Fiske Blvd.
The Quintet include Wilborn’s son, Dexter, on bass, guitarist Ryan Waszmer, drummer Ashton Bailey-Gould and Matt Mill on trumpet.
Admission is $10 for Society members, $15 for non-members and free for students under 25 with identification. Purchase tickets at SpaceCoastJazzSociety.org.
For more information, call 321-960-4897.
Christmas Cantata
The public is invited to join the Christmas Cantata at 7 p.m., Monday, Dec. 9, and Wednesday, Dec. 11, at the Great Outdoors Community Church,144 Plantation Drive, Titusville.
Admission is free and refreshments are included. For more information, call 321-385-9731.
Email [email protected].
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