The North Carolina Jazz Ensemble will perform "The Joy of Music," an annual holiday concert with special guest vocalist Brandi Q. Hancock, Dec. 13 at 4 p.m.
A pre-concert reception will begin at 3 p.m. for ticket holders. The ensemble will perform standard jazz arrangements and a selection of holiday classics.
Tickets are on sale now for $10 general admission. They can be purchased on line at www.hayti.org or at 683-1709 ext. 21; or at the Hayti Heritage Center, 804 Old Fayetteville Street, Durham.
Holiday Pops at the Durham Armory
The Durham Symphony will perform its Annual Holiday Pops Concert at the Durham Armory Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.
Music Director William Henry Curry and the orchestra will perform holiday classics and other works with the Hillandale Children's Chorus and Director Dena Byers
This event also includes a silent auction, sing-along and dessert buffet. Painted violins also will be for sale.
For tickets, visit www.durhamsymphony.org or call 491-6576.
John Berry concert at Carolina Theatre
Country music artist John Berry will perform his annual Christmas concert at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Carolina Theatre in Durham.
General admission tickets are $28 and are available at the theatre box office or online at www.carolinatheatre.org. Call 560-3030 to purchase tickets. Box office hours are weekdays from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and one hour prior to show time.
Jazz orchestra at UNC's Memorial Hall
The North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra will usher in the swinging sounds of the holiday Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall on the campus of UNC Chapel Hill.
Tickets are available by calling the Memorial Hall Box Office at 843-3333, or at the door.
NCCU's annual holiday social Dec. 4
The campus radio station of North Carolina Central University, WNCU 90.7 FM, will present its Annual Holiday Social and live broadcast featuring the NCCU Faculty Jazz Group.
The live broadcast and social take place Dec. 4 in B.N. Duke Auditorium. A member reception will be held from 6 to 7 p.m., with the live broadcast from 7 to 9 p.m.
The live broadcast is free and open to the public. Free parking is also available near the auditorium. For details, call 530-7445.
Wind ensemble holiday concert
The Triangle Wind Ensemble will present an annual holiday concert in a joint appearance with Durham Children's Choir Dec. 6 at 3 p.m. in Baldwin Auditorium, East Campus, Duke University.
Triangle Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Robert C. Hunter, and the Durham Children's Choir, under the direction of Scott Hill, will feature both separate and joint performances of seasonal works.
Admission is free.
Duke Chorale's Christmas concert
The Duke Chorale will present its annual Christmas Concert in Duke Chapel Tuesday. The concert begins at 7 p.m., but visitors are advised to come early for organ and carillon holiday music beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Admission to the event is one non-perishable food item for needy families in Durham. In past years, thousands of pounds of food have been collected and donated to the Food Bank of North Carolina and Durham Community Kitchen.
Rodney Wynkoop is professor of music and director of university choral music and chapel music at Duke University, where he conducts the Duke Chorale and Chapel Choir.
Collegium Musicum to perform at Duke
Duke Collegium Musicum, directed by Karen Cook, will perform seasonal music from Early Europe and America Dec. 4 at 8 p.m. in the Nelson Music Room, East Duke Building, Duke University.
The concert includes several settings of the well-known tune In Dulci Jubilo ("In Sweet Joy") by Michael Praetorius (1571-1621), Bach's "Watchmen of Zion," and works by Mouton, Trouluffe, Brumel, Busnois, Flecha, and others.
Admission is free. Call 660-3333 for more information.
Duke String School holiday festival
The Duke String School, directed by Dorothy Kitchen, will perform its Holiday Festival Dec. 5. Concerts take place at 3 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. in Baldwin Auditorium, Duke University.
There will be a reception following the 7 p.m. performance.
Admission is free. Call 660-3333 for more information.
String School students also will perform holiday music Dec. 12 at 10:30 a.m. in Brightleaf Square.
'Lighting Up the Holidays' on Dec. 6
The Durham Chorale will present its 22nd Annual Holiday Concert "Lighting up the Holidays" at 3 p.m. Dec. 6 at the Durham Academy Lower School, 3501 Ridge Road, Durham.
The Chorale is directed by Melody Zentner and accompanied by Matthew Barnhill. Tickets are $10. Attendees are asked to bring a non-perishable food item to be donated to Urban Ministries of Durham. For program information and detailed directions visit www.durhamchorale.org.
Duke choir to present 'Messiah'
The Duke Chapel Choir and orchestra will present Handel's "Messiah" Dec. 6 at 3 p.m. in Duke Chapel. A pre-concert reception will be held at 1 p.m. in the Bryan Center, West Campus, Duke University.
Tickets for the reception and concert are $25.50.
For details, call (919) 684-3246.
RTOOT presents holiday concert
The Really Terrible Orchestra Of the Triangle (RTOOT) will present a holiday concert Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m. The concert will be held in the Reynolds Theater at the Bryan Center, Duke University.
RTOOT has partnered with Toys for Tots to help children in the community avoid a terrible holiday, and will accept donations at the holiday concert. Patrons are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to collection bins at the concert to make these holidays memorable for those affected by these trying economic times.
Doors open at 7 for the 7:30 concert. Tickets are $7 at the door and can be purchased in advance from the Duke box office, tickets.duke.edu or 684-4444.
Christmas at the Cradle on Dec. 15
Trekky Records' annual show Christmas at the Cradle returns Dec. 15 at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro. This event started as a spontaneous holiday collaboration in 2006, but has grown into a local tradition. The fourth annual celebration will benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, as it has since its inception.
Joining the bill, as they do every year, will be The Trekky Yuletide Orchestra, a 25 plus-member holiday super-group made up of members of the Trekky Records Collective. Formed in 2006 to record their album "A New Old Fashioned Christmas," The Orchestra has opened and headlined every year of Christmas at the Cradle, sharing their electrified, symphonic brand of Christmas music.
Doors at 7 p.m., and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 day of show. For tickets, call 967-9053.
READINGS
Gurganus' 'A Fool for Christmas'
Novelist Allan Gurganus will reprise his December 2005 performance of his unpublished short story, "A Fool for Christmas," at the Regulator Bookshop, 720 Ninth St., Durham, Dec. 15, at 7 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.
Commissioned by NPR's "All Things Considered" for airing on Christmas Eve, Gurganus channels Verne, a heavyset pet-store owner who assists with a mystical holiday birth at his mall workplace. He'll do a minute or two of Scrooge as well. Mulled wine, hot apple cider, and holiday cookies will help to round out the evening.
For information, call 286-2700.
'Christmas Carol' at Deep Dish
For one night only, Deep Dish Theater presents an intimate, dramatic reading of the seasonal classic, "A Christmas Carol," Dec. 11 at 8 p.m. at University Mall in Chapel Hill. In full Victorian costume, Dr. Marc Napolitano will bring to life Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and a whole host of memorable characters. A brief Q&A session will follow the performance.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for students and children. They are available at the Deep Dish box office in University Mall, Wednesday to Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m., at www.deepdishtheater.org, or (919) 968-1515.
