Choir gears up for The Grotto’s Festival of Lights

Mt. Hood’s choir will be singing at The Grotto’s Festival of Lights, taking the northeast Portland stage at 9 p.m. on Dec. 1, at 8840 N.E. Skidmore St.

“If people are interested in coming up for it, they should arrive a little bit early. It’s nuts up there, the Christmas lights are just crazily beautiful, (and) they have a petting zoo, they have puppet shows, they have carolers outside,” said Kevin Lambert, Mt. Hood’s choir director.

The festival is located on “sacred ground,” said Lambert, so the choir will sing songs appropriate for the occasion.  “We do tend to be respectful of the space that we’re singing in. Not all of our music will be sacred, but again, we are trying to be respectful that we are singing in a sacred space.”

For instance, MHCC’s choir will sing “Ave Maria,” which was arranged by Edwin Elgar, composer of the “Pomp and Circumstance March,” which is performed at almost all commencement ceremonies in the U.S.

The group will sing “O Magnum Mysterium,” a song that Lambert describes as “about this great mystery that Jesus, who Christians hold to be the Messiah, was to be born in a stable,” and details how animals, rather than kings, were the first to witness the miracle.

The version chosen by Lambert is from the 16th century, and was put together by Tomas De La Victoria from Spain.

The choir will end with a gospel-like arrangement of Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem,” which will transition into their closing song “Oh Holy Night,” the original version that happens to be the one performed in the first “Home Alone” movie.

“Oh Holy Night,” is Lambert’s favorite Christmas carol. “It’s just stunningly beautiful – simple, beautiful to listen to,” he said, although it’s often been overdone, he believes. “There’s been, in my opinion, really bad recordings of it out there.”

About 60 singers will perform at The Grotto, with a few that have never performed with a choir.

“For anyone who hasn’t sung in a choir – to have this be their first experience, in that space, is really just incredible. It’s gonna be pretty spectacular for them,” Lambert said. “It’ll be a little bit of a slap in the face, but in a great way.”

The Mt. Hood choir is open for anyone to join and is available every school term. This year will be the third time Lambert accompanies the choir to The Grotto, and the first time he will be in charge of it.

Mt. Hood’s choir will be the last to perform on Dec. 1.

The Festival goes from 5 to 9:30 p.m. and costs $10 for adults, $9 for seniors with ID, $5 for children ages 3-12, and is free for anyone 2 and under. For more information, visit http://www.thegrotto.org/christmas/.