WHEATON, IL — The Northern Illinois Harmony Alliance has four new numbers, guest quartets and more planned for their “We Need a Little Christmas” holiday show. The performances in Wheaton and St. Charles will feature more than 70 chorus singers presenting traditional Christmas tunes, followed by a musical celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
“This year, we have four new numbers that I think are going to be really popular,” Bill Murschel, who performs with the alliance and organizes the holiday shows, told Patch. One of those tunes is “Somewhere in my Memory,” from the movie Home Alone.
Made up of singers from choruses throughout the greater Chicago area, the Northern Illinois Harmony Alliance includes performers from Chicago Aurora, Downers Grove, Lombard, Naperville, St. Charles, Wheaton and Winfield.
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This year’s holiday show will feature a special appearance by Factory Tuned Quartet, whom Murschel described as “one of the top quartets in the whole state.” The group will sing “Carol of the Bells,” which Murschel said is a crowd favorite, along with “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”
The show’s first half will be narrated by emcee and chorus member Martin LaGrande and will feature “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Winter Wonderland” and other popular holiday songs that audience members might recognize from film and radio.
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Murschel said five quartets will perform songs amid the chorus numbers.
“If you can envision a program with about 20 different selections, there are chorus numbers and quartet numbers,” Murschel told Patch.
The second half of “We Need a Little Christmas” will take on a more religious theme, telling the Christian nativity story through carols that include “Mary, Did You Know.”
“One of the most special numbers of the whole evening is that song, “Mary, Did You Know,” done by an ensemble of about 10 voices,” Murschel said.
“We call them a very large quartet.”
The audience is invited to sing along to “Joy to the World” for the performance’s closing number.
Once again, the Northern Illinois Harmony Alliance will perform two shows.
The first will be held on Dec. 14 at 3 p.m. in Barrows Auditorium at Wheaton College. The second is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Baker United Methodist Church in St. Charles.
Murschel raved about the atmosphere and acoustics of each venue.
He said the beloved holiday shows “typically reach about 700 people across the two performances.”
And the appeal spans all ages.
“The high school students love the a cappella numbers,” Murschel said, “and the senior citizens love traditional barbershop. Then you get moms and dads who bring along the grandkids.”
Tickets are $15 for students who are 18 and younger, $20 each for groups of 10 or more and $25 for general admission. Children younger than five years old get free admission.
Click the link to buy tickets to “We Need a Little Christmas.”
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