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On Dec. 5 at 1 p.m. at Hamblen Park Presbyterian Church, Friday Musical, the 99-year-old champion of music in Spokane, will celebrate the Advent and Christmas season with choral and instrumental music ranging from young vocalists to professional musicians plus a rousing sing-a-long featuring the best known songs of the season.
The Crescendo Community Chorus, conducted by Sharon Smith, was developed to offer an affordable singing experience to children in the Spokane region, according to a press release. Crescendo itself is made up of two groups, the Preparatory Choir and the Concert Choir, who have consistently received Superior ratings from the Music Educator Adjudication. For their performance at Friday Musical on the 5th, the Concert Choir will sing a new arrangement of the French carol “Il est Ne” and “Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mine.” The Preparatory Choir will sing Leo Sowerby’s “Little Jesus, Sweetly Sleep” and “The Hope Carol” by Tom Shelton.
Smith, a long-time member of Friday Musical, is artistic director of Crescendo Community Chorus and is a lecturer, conductor and clinician. She is on staff with the North Carolina Summer Institute for the Choral Arts each summer. Currently, she is also director of the choir at Bethany Presbyterian Church.
Pianist Kevin Kelly will play Chopin’s “Ballade No. 4” in F minor and “Scarbo” from Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit. He is a junior at Eastern Washington University, majoring in biochemistry.
A traditional part of Friday Musical’s celebration is the annual Christmas Sing, led by member, Melissa Percy Drumm.
Friday Musical was founded in 1915 by women musicians in Spokane—particularly mothers and daughters, who met once a month as an outlet for performance and to continue their education.
