The Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus rehearsed days before last yearโ€™s Holiday Card to Tucson concert. The boys return as part of this yearโ€™s concert on Dec. 3 at St. Augustine Cathedral downtown.

If youโ€™re one of those folks who are scratching their heads asking how the heck we went from Fourth of July to Thanksgiving in what seemed like a minute, weโ€™d like to put something else on your radar:

Christmas is less than a month away.

If you need a little push to get into the holiday spirit, mosey down to St. Augustine Cathedral on Sunday, Dec. 3, for the 24th annual โ€œHoliday Card to Tucsonโ€ concert.

OK, before you go, youโ€™ll need a ticket ($25). You might want to jump on that pretty soon; the concert, with an afternoon and evening performance, sells out every year.

We suspect we know why: Itโ€™s a chance to see some of the university and communityโ€™s best vocal talent delivering much-needed holiday cheer on one stage.

This yearโ€™s multigenerational cast features the University of Arizona Symphonic Choir, University Community Chorus, University Singers, Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus and Tucson Girls Chorus singing everything from โ€œDeck the Hallโ€ to โ€œAdesteโ€ (โ€œOโ€™ Come, All Ye Faithfulโ€) accompanied by handbells and organ or piano, or sung a capella.

The concert will include the groups performing on their own and in combination, and the program covers the gamut of classic holiday hits, including โ€œJingle Bells,โ€ โ€œJoy to the Worldโ€ and โ€œSilent Night.โ€ Thereโ€™s contemporary flashes, including Kevin Phillip Johnsonโ€™s arrangement of the traditional African-American spiritual โ€œChildren, Go Where I Send Theeโ€ that includes rap crafted by Ayana Davis, works drawn from the classical canon with Gustav Holstโ€™s Christmas carol โ€œIn the Bleak MidWinterโ€ and Felix Mendelssohnโ€™s โ€œHark! The Herald Angels Sing.โ€

The โ€œHoliday Card to Tucsonโ€ returns once again to St. Augustine Cathedral, 192 S. Stone Ave., where it has been held for more than a dozen years. Performances are at 3 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, and they last around 90 minutes. Bonus: Audience members will have a couple of opportunities to sing along.

For details and tickets, visit music.arizona.edu/events/holiday-card.

Performance of "Go Tell It On The Mountain," arranged by Donald McCullough, at the beautiful Benedictine Monastery in Tucson during the December 2010 holiday concert series.


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Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Twitter @Starburch