"A Great Miracle Happened There," this year's holiday concert from the Young People's Chorus of Erie, will be held Friday, Dec. 8, and will explore the playful and more serious aspects of a variety of holiday traditions with tunes for Hanukkah, Christmas, Diwali and more.
ERIE, Pa. — On the sides of a traditional Hanukkah dreidel, four Hebrew letters represent the phrase “Nes gadol haya sham.” The translation: "A Great Miracle Happened There."
Those five words serve as the title and theme for this year’s holiday concert by the Young People’s Chorus of Erie.
“The playfulness of the game of dreidel and the profundity of the statement about great miracles form an interesting juxtaposition,” said Gabrielle Dietrich, YPC Erie’s artistic director. “In many ways, it's a perfect reflection of both the nature of young people's choruses and the holiday season in general. There's supposed to be a good dose of lighthearted fun in chorus and in holiday celebrations, but there is a core of deep meaning, ancient tradition and sacred wisdom also to be found.”
To that end, the concert will explore the playful and more serious aspects of a variety of holiday traditions with tunes for Hanukkah, Christmas, Diwali and more.
The performance begins at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8, at Our Lady of Peace Church, located at 2401 W. 38th St.in Erie.
Dietrich will conduct the Concert Chorus, Young Men’s Chorus, Chorale and Cantare, YPC’s youngest chorus. Special guest tenor Daniel Cabanillas also will perform during the concert.
YPC Erie is a youth outreach organization of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Penn State Behrend and northwestern Pennsylvania’s only comprehensive youth choral music program.
Tickets for “A Great Miracle Happened There” are available now. Adult tickets cost $10, and tickets for children ages 7-12 are $5. Children under the age of 6 are free.
To order tickets, call the YPC Erie office at 814-898-6789.
Steve Orbanek
Marketing Communications Coordinator, Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
