Paul Szmal: FLX Morning continues, it is 8.38, still some light rain moving through the Finger Lakes in spots. We did get to 50, but we've rolled back, we're now at 49. Joining me now is Lenore Frent from Finger Lakes Community College as we get to talk about some of their holiday activities that are coming up. Lenore, good morning, how are you this morning?
Lenore Friend: Good morning, Paul. I'm great, glad to be here.
Paul Szmal: Yes, good to have you. And with the FLCC's holiday programming, there's not only concerts, but there's also art, which we'll get to in a little bit. It's a nice mix of cultural elements for the holiday season.
Lenore Friend: Right, there's all different kinds of music. If you're into jazz, we have that. We have your traditional choral music, those holiday favorites. And the best thing about it is that it's all free and open to the public. And that is great, too, that anybody can enjoy the events.
Paul Szmal: Let's talk about some of the events in particular. First off, the performances by what is known as the Finger Lakes Camerata.
Lenore Friend: Right, now this is a chamber chorus, and if you're familiar with chamber choruses, they tend to be smaller and operate in more intimate venues. And they do a lot of a cappella music. They do a mix of Renaissance music, but also some popular music, too. But it's that very haunting kind of blending of voices that I find really interesting.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, that is a great listen if you're a fan of harmony and interlocking voices and that sort of thing. The Camerata is going to present a program called Love Came Down at Christmas. Can you give us a little sneak preview of what might be on the menu?
Lenore Friend: So that's going to have some of the favorites that everyone likes. Two of the pieces will be the 12 Days of Christmas and the First Noel. But they will be doing a medieval piece, and I'm probably not pronouncing this right, Persona Hodie, which is a Finnish carol. That means let the voices resound today. If people go, they might recognize it. But it's one of those great Renaissance tunes.
Paul Szmal: And there's a couple of performances people can choose from to attend here.
Lenore Friend: Sure, there's one on Friday, December 5th at 7 p.m. And that's at the Presbyterian Church right on 24 Park Place in Geneva. There's another one the next day, Saturday, December 6th. That's at 3 p.m. at the First Congregational Church. That's at 58 North Main Street in Canandaigua. And again, both of those are free entry. You might see a freewill offering when you go there. We do accept donations to a scholarship fund for music and music recording students. And that's just entirely optional if you'd like to give to that fund.
Paul Szmal: This is just one of the holiday events that FLCC has going on. Lenore, at the top of the conversation, you mentioned jazz. The jazz ensemble from FLCC is getting in on the holiday fun, too.
Lenore Friend: Absolutely. So we have two jazz ensemble concerts, and they are at Monday night, December 8th, and Tuesday night, December 9th. Those are at 7 p.m. Those are at the main campus in Stage 14, which is, again, a smaller, more intimate venue. And so these are various groups of students who have been studying jazz under different professors. And so it's kind of a mix of different performances. And this is essentially the final project for the semester. It's a little bit like their final exam. So go and give them a little encouragement.
Paul Szmal: Oh, that's kind of neat. And I didn't realize that we had this variety of musical programs as part of FLCC. And I'm sure I'm not the only one listening to this conversation saying, oh, gee, I didn't know they did that.
Lenore Friend: Right, right. We have a very strong music recording program. A lot of the students who are in that program are also just very good musicians. And so a lot of them are studying music recording, but also actively practicing and playing music as well. And so after the jazz ensembles later that week, we have the guitar and percussion ensembles. They're performing on Friday, December 12, at 7 p.m., also at the main campus. That's what we call it, the winter concert. And that's just a mix of guitar pieces and then percussion pieces. Sometimes we have some vocal in there as well. But it's a little bit different if you want something a little different for this holiday season.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, it's great that you have this menu. You have the Camerata, the jazz ensembles, the guitar and percussion ensembles playing something for everybody. But we're still not done with the performances.
Lenore Friend: No, the following weekend, so that would be the weekends of December 13 and 14, we have the Finger Lakes Chorale. And I think that's probably the most familiar group for a lot of people. The chorale has been around since 1971. And it's a community chorus. So you don't have to be a student. Anyone from the community can join. And I can explain a little bit about that later if there's time. And they will do your very traditional Alleluia Chorus type music. Some of those, again, Christmas and Hanukkah favorites. And again, a really, really big sound, because there's always 70, 80 people in the chorus.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, I love big choruses and listening to them, especially during the holiday season when they get to perform some of the traditional holiday favorites. This year's holiday program, by the way, titled Gloria, featuring works from Vivaldi, Mozart, Host, and a host of, as you mentioned, Christmas and Hanukkah favorites. It's going to be a great program.
Lenore Friend: Sure, now that is Saturday, December 13 at 7.30 PM at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Canandaigua. And the next day, Sunday, December 14 at 3 PM at the First Congregational Church in Canandaigua at 58 North Main Street. So there's an evening performance and then an afternoon performance. And again, yeah.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, same concert. And again, the entry is free. There will be a donation plate there or a chance for you to make a donation to the music scholarship program at FLCC if you so desire.
Lenore Friend: Neat little way to help out for the holiday season. We mentioned art as being a part of this as well, because I know the art program at FLCC is a very strong program. And as part of that, there is a partnership with high school students for an art show.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, this is becoming a fall tradition, where in December, we invite the art teachers at Victor and Canandaigua to work with their students, select some work, and submit this for a show that runs through the month. The opening of the show is going to be held at the joint galleries of Art Space 36 and Gallery 32. And as you know, there's a story behind that as well. But the opening exhibit or the opening reception is Friday, December 5th at 4.30 PM in downtown Canandaigua. That is open to the public, and that as well is free. And so come and join some high school students. See the work they're doing. It is very impressive. It is a cool thing to see and to talk to the young folks.
Lenore Friend: Yeah, there's about 30 students in grades 9 through 12 that are going to have work in this show. It's going to be on display through December 21st at Art Space 36 at 36 South Main, the adjoining Gallery 32, which is run by the Canandaigua Arts Council. We've talked about that partnership before. They are also going to have works on display. So it's a great chance to check out artists in the making.
Paul Szmal: Absolutely. And is there a listing on the website, Lenore, that's got the rundown of the performances and whatnot for anybody that may have missed it? You probably weren't sitting by your radio with a pen and paper. So if you want to double check the dates and the times of all of these events, just go to the home page, the flcc.edu home page, and just scroll down, and you'll see the events section. You can also go to flcc.edu backslash events, and that will list all the public events that we have coming up. And you can go there any time during the year. We have public events all through the year, certainly at the end of the semester. That's a big time for these events. But we do have events going all year long.
Lenore Friend: And these holiday events, as you mentioned, some of these have been around for a while. I've got to imagine that the campus has been buzzing with everybody in the music programs and whatnot, rehearsing, getting ready for these shows.
Paul Szmal: Oh, right. The first week of December is always pretty crazy around the main campus. And then it'll all start up again at the beginning of the spring semester and the end of January.
Lenore Friend: Well, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday season. And thanks for filling us in this morning, Lenore. We certainly appreciate it.
Paul Szmal: No problem, Paul. Happy Thanksgiving.
Lenore Friend: Coming up on 848 here on FLX Morning.
