EVANSTON, Ill. --- The Northwestern University School of Music’s December 2007 highlights include jazz, choral and orchestral concerts.

Several of the programs will feature Christmas music, including a Dec. 2 Newberry Consort performance of early music celebrating the Nativity; two performances (Dec. 8 and 9) of the 68th Annual Christmas Concert; and a Dec. 9 Festival of Lessons and Carols featuring readings and music celebrating the story of Christmas.

Events listed below will be held on Northwestern’s Evanston campus at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive; Regenstein Recital Hall, 60 Arts Circle Drive; Lutkin Hall, 700 University Place; or Alice Millar Chapel, 1870 Sheridan Road, as noted below.

For more information, call the Pick-Staiger Concert Office at (847) 491-5441 or visit the
new Pick-Staiger Web site at <www.pickstaiger.org>. To order tickets by phone, call the Pick-Staiger Ticket Office at (847) 467-4000.

DECEMBER 2007 MUSIC EVENTS

Jazz Band and Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Nite II, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. School of Music faculty members Daniel J. Farris and Joel Spencer will conduct the jazz program featuring Northwestern’s Jazz Band and Jazz Ensemble. Single tickets are $7 for the general public; $5 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $4 for full-time students.

University Women’s Chorus, 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, Alice Millar Chapel. Conducted by Elizabeth Shapovalov, the chorus will perform a concert of sacred and secular choral music, both a cappella and accompanied. Single tickets are $7 for the general public; $5 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $4 for full-time students.

Newberry Consort, “Journey to Bethlehem -- 17th Century German Music for Advent and Christmas,” 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2, Alice Millar Chapel. This Nativity celebration features voices and historical instruments. Joining the Newberry Consort is the Whole Noyse, an early music ensemble that performs on modern reproductions of 16th century instruments. The group is comprised of Stephen Escher, cornetto and recorder; D. Sanford Stadtfeld, sackbut and recorder; Herber Myers, dulcian, recorder and viola; and Richard Van Hessel, sackbut, recorder and gittern. Single tickets are $24 for the general public; $20 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $11 for full-time students.

Philharmonia, “Symphonic Voyages,” 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Conducted by Robert G. Hasty, this orchestral concert will feature Mendelssohn’s “Hebrides Overture” (“Fingal’s Cave”); Georges Enesco’s “Rumanian Rhapsody” No. 1 in A Major; and Antonín Dvo?ák’s Symphony No. 9 in E Minor (“From the New World”). Single tickets are $7 for the general public; $5 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $4 for full-time students.

University Singers and University Chorus, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 4, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Conducted by School of Music faculty member Robert A. Harris and students Elizabeth Shapovalov and Timothy Stafford, the University Singers and University Chorus will perform individually and together during a program featuring a cappella selections and works with piano and instrumental accompaniment. Selections include Daniel Pinkham’s “Christmas Cantata” and Giannini’s “Canticle of the Martyrs.” Single tickets are $7 for the general public; $5 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $4 for full-time students.

Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra: Viva Italia! 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. School of Music faculty member Robert G. Hasty will conduct this orchestral concert featuring the Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra and guitarists Anne Waller and Mark Maxwell as they perform Verdi’s Overture to “Nabucco,” Suite 2 from Respighi’s “Ancient Airs and Dances”; Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Concerto for Two Guitars; and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 in A Major (“Italian”). Single tickets are $7 for the general public; $5 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $4 for full-time students.

Symphonic Band, “Something Old, Something New,” 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Conducted by School of Music faculty member Ryan T. Nelson, the Symphonic Band will perform Ron Nelson’s “Homage to Perotin,” Fisher Tull’s “Sketches on a Tudor Psalm,” Timothy Broege’s Sinfonia V (“Symphonia Sacre e Profana”) and Bob Margolis’s “Terpsichore.” Single tickets are $7 for the general public; $5 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $4 for full-time students.

University Chorale, “68th Annual Christmas Concert,” 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 9, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. School of Music faculty member Robert A. Harris will conduct the University Chorale and members of the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Bach’s Magnificat in D Major and Louie L. White’s “Rejoice, Emmanuel Shall Come.” Single tickets are $12 for the general public; $9 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $6 for full-time students.

A Festival of Lessons and Carols, 10:40 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 9, Alice Millar Chapel. Readings and music combine to portray the Christmas miracle in this concert conducted by School of Music faculty member Stephen Alltop. Oboist Michael Henoch, the Alice Millar Chapel Choir, Philharmonia and the Millar Brass Ensemble will perform medieval and modern carols. This program features Ferko’s “Motet for the Annunciation,” Nelhybel’s “Estampie Natalis,” Rutter’s “What Sweeter Music” and Sandström’s “Lo, How a Rose e’er Blooming.” Admission is a freewill offering.