Marilyn Hagerty: The music of Christmas – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS — The music of Christmas flows across the Grand Forks area with Christmas Eve coming on Sunday, Dec. 24, and it seems the world is ready.

The annual Christmas musical drew a full house to Calvary Lutheran Church, where Thursday Music Club sponsored its Musicale. The Greater Grand Forks City Band delighted an audience at Valley Senior Living. UND was alive with the sounds of Christmas.

The joy of Christmas concerts came to the university as well as Greater Grand Forks. Chaplain Bud Johnson of Valley Senior Living brought a Christmas message of joy to the Thursday Club Musicale at Calvary. There was a vocal solo by G. Paul Larson. A choir directed by Callie Stadem also brought the sounds of Christmas. Mathew Cherian added joy to the musical with solos “Ordinary Baby” and “Mary, Did You Know.” His vocal solo closing the 2023 Musicale was “O Holy Night.”

The same quiet joy of the season that comes around every December was there as a pianist played the postlude.

Among the joyous holiday music heard around Grand Forks was a performance by the Grand Forks City Band.

A group of 27 players–wearing blue shirts, red sweaters and holiday hats–stopped by Valley Senior Living.

There are 55 musicians all told in the band. Janelle Huber is the band’s second-year director. “We could use more clarinets,” she says.

While taking the month of January off, the band welcomes musicians to show up for auditions at Popplers Music. The band practices between 7 and 8:30 p.m. on Mondays.