Following the Coast’s profuse choral and instrumental offerings of early December, the MOTET chamber choir plans two concerts at the midpoint of the traditional Christmas festival.
Its Twelve Days of Christmas concerts explore the depths of the Christmas season, beginning with an introit for midnight mass, celebrating the multitude of saints and reflecting on the gifts of the Epiphany.
Works by Byrd and Weelkes will be featured to mark the 400th anniversary of their deaths, as well as newer arrangements by Pierre Pincemaille, Philip Stopford, and Janet Wheeler.
MOTET performs in Sechelt on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 3 p.m. at St Hilda’s Anglican Church, and in Vancouver on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m. at the Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church. Admission is by donation ($15 to 25 suggested) at the door; all ages will be warmly welcomed. More info is online at www.motet.ca.
Bright lights on the beach
The Sunshine Coast Hospice Society invites the public to its Lighting of the Memories ceremony on Jan. 1 at 1 p.m. at Mission Point Park.
The gathering is a follow-up to the Society’s Lights of Life event in December, where hundreds of ornaments were collected with handwritten tributes or the names of friends and family who have passed away.
Those ornaments with messages are collected and brought to Davis Bay to be lit in the ceremonial bonfire as a symbolic release of the sentiments expressed.
The apocalypse will be dramatized
The Off the Page play-reading series is gearing up to present How to Survive an Apocalypse by Vancouver playwright Jordan Hall.
The dramatized reading will feature actors Sophia Ballantyne, Lisa Furfaro, Justin Huston and Steve Schwabl. It takes place at the Heritage Playhouse on Jan. 14 at 1 p.m.
The script is a funny and frank exploration of a young couple who become end-of-the-world “preppers” when faced with financial hardship. Desperately unprepared for any actual wilderness living, they join another couple in the woods to boost their survival skills.
Foraging for food does not come easy to them. Jen, one of the characters, opines: “The apocalypse will not be gluten-free.” As the plot progresses, the concept of “apocalypse” takes on personal as well as social meanings.
Admission is by donation at the door, with a suggested minimum of $10.
Braced to belt it out
One of the Sunshine Coast’s most inventive young musical groups will perform over two multimedia-rich concerts at the Heritage Playhouse in January. Belt is the progressive rock combo of bassist Jack Davis, vocalist Brielle Taylor, guitarist and backing vocalist Julian Bailey, and drummer Joshua Paolozza.
The Belt ensemble, which played a set at this year’s Rogue Arts Festival, is preparing a combination of covers and original compositions. Their work tackles environmental and existential themes, interpreted through the surprisingly polished lens of latter-day grunge.
The two Belt It Out performances take place on Jan. 19 and 20 at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons, at 7 p.m. both nights. Browse to tickets.beltitout.ca for information and pre-sales.
