HFC, City of Dearborn virtual concert, Dec. 7-31

HFC is working with the City of Dearborn and the Dearborn Community Fund (DCF) to provide some joy this holiday season, producing a virtual holiday concert in lieu of traditional holiday concerts and the City’s annual Christmas tree-lighting/sing-a-long that have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

How to watch
Watch online, on-demand or choose from the options below.

This 30-minute concert will begin airing Monday, Dec. 7, and continue through Thursday, Dec. 31:
City of Dearborn Television (CDTV) (Comcast Ch. 12 and WOW! Channel 10)
CDTV website
City of Dearborn YouTube Channel
It will be broadcast on the following dates and times:

• Mondays and Wednesdays: 7:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m., and 11:00 p.m.
• Tuesdays and Thursdays: 8:00 a.m., noon, and 4:00 p.m.
• Fridays: 7:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m.
• Saturdays and Sundays: 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

The concert will feature performances by:

• HFC Vocal Ensembles: HFC Chorus and Blue Fusion Vocal Jazz Ensemble
• Vanguard Voices
• The Dearborn Symphony Orchestra (DSO)
• The Players Guild of Dearborn

Dearborn’s gift to the community

“This is a gift to the community from all of us. We wanted to show that the arts are still going strong in Dearborn,” said DCF executive director EmmaJean Woodyard, an HFC alumna. “This is holiday special is a creative approach to keeping music and performances alive. Despite the unusual circumstances, the organizations were able to work together to create an innovative, enjoyable holiday concert to be viewed online or via cable TV. The unique thing about this special is that it’s part virtual, part on-stage.”

The special will be a combination of virtual performances conducted over Zoom video conferencing, and performances done in a socially distanced way in-person at the Michael A. Guido Theater, located inside the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dearborn.

HFC music professor G. Kevin Dewey will direct the feature performances by the HFC Vocal Ensembles. Music director Steven Jarvi will conduct the musical numbers performed by the DSO, as well as the closing selection, which combines the DSO and Vanguard Virtual Voices. The Players Guild of Dearborn is represented by longtime member/performers Paul Bruce, Colleen Meade Ripper, and Brian Townsend.

A variety of musical numbers will be performed

The musical selections are:

• “Masters in this Hall” (HFC Chorus)
• “Wassail Song” (Blue Fusion Vocal Jazz Ensemble)
• “As Some People Tell It” (written by Paul Bruce and performed by Brian Townsend and Colleen Meade Ripper of the Players Guild)
• “Theme and Variation on a Frozen Night” (written and performed by Paul Bruce)
• “Suite of Carols” (by Leroy Anderson, performed by the DSO)
• “Fantasia on ‘Greensleeves’” (by Ralph Vaughn Williams, performed by the DSO)

The closing number, “Hallelujah Chorus, from Messiah,” will be a unique mixture of virtual and on-stage performances by Vanguard Virtual Voices and the DSO.

This virtual concert special is being produced by Woodyard; Patricia Maurier, broadcast media manager of the Department of Public Information’s CDTV division; and Martin Zbosnik, theater manager at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center.

Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. supported the endeavor and praised the artistic groups involved.

“Dearborn is so fortunate to have such high-quality cultural arts groups, and also fortunate to celebrate the holidays in this creative way, right when we need it most,” he said. “I’m grateful to the HFC Music Department, the Players Guild, and the Dearborn Symphony for making this program possible, and for the Dearborn Community Fund for initiating it.”