True Concord wraps up bubble season with twin holiday concerts

True Concord Voices & Orchestra started wrapping up its fall bubble season last weekend when its prerecorded performance of Handel’s “Messiah” went live.

This weekend, the professional ensemble’s signature holiday concert “Lessons & Carols by Candlelight — Mary’s Gift” will go live, as well. Both concerts were filmed in Paradise Valley during True Concord’s extraordinary bubble season, in which 18 choir members from around the country were isolated for nearly six weeks while they performed six concerts a total of 26 times.

True Concord Music Director Eric Holtan said his group performed both concerts at Paradise Valley’s Camelback Bible Church, where True Concord’s go-to organist Guy Whatley is the church organist. The church’s music director, Luke Lusted, occasionally sings with True Concord, as well, giving the ensemble a rare open door as most venues statewide remain closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The problem was that we could not get a venue in Tucson that not just met our criteria but that was open and would make themselves available to record in,” Holtan said. “Otherwise we would have done it in Tucson.”

Camelback Bible Church was actually True Concord’s second Phoenix-area choice. They were set up to film both concerts at Scottsdale’s Pinnacle Presbyterian Church, where they have performed in the past, but the church’s lighting system was on the fritz so they had to switch gears, Holtan said.

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This is the second time True Concord has performed “Messiah,” a centerpiece of Tucson Symphony Orchestra’s holiday concerts for years. The orchestra this year scrapped the “Messiah” along with all of its 2020-21 season, instead reimagining the lineup to include virtual content from conversations with musicians and TSO Conductor José Luis Gomez to small ensemble performances.

Holtan said True Concord, which was hired to perform “Messiah” two years ago, added the concert as a holiday special because the TSO was not doing it.

“Lessons & Carols,” which goes live at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, will include new works alongside traditional Christmas carols and excerpts from Britten’s “A Ceremony of Carols.” Harpist Christine Vivona and Whatley will be featured alongside the choir of 18.

Both concerts will be up on True Concord’s streaming platform through Dec. 25. You can access the site through trueconcord.org.