For a Blessed Christmas concerts December 4 & 5, 2021

Clarke University invites you to attend the annual For a Blessed Christmas program. This beloved holiday tradition includes two performances scheduled for Saturday, December 4, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, December 5, at 2 p.m. in Clarke University’s Sacred Heart Chapel.

For a Blessed Christmas is a touching portrayal of the Christmas story through music and scripture. This year’s event features violin soloist Ann Duchow, as well as performances by Clarke Collegiate Singers, Cantabile, and Melos under the direction of Dr. Amanda Huntleigh, Clarke University Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities; and Clarke String Orchestra and Wind Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Rob Stull, Clarke University Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Instrumental Activities.

For a Blessed Christmas musical selections will include arrangements of traditional carols, Winter from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Charles Gounod’s setting of Ave Maria, and the Iowa premiere of a new sacred motet by Penrose Allphin. The audience is invited to sing along both during Silent Night and at the end of the program.

Featured soloist, Ann Duchow, serves as associate concertmaster of the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra as well as a string instructor at Clarke University. As a treasured local artist, she has performed in numerous musicals in the pit as well as on stage. Ms. Duchow taught orchestra at Dubuque Senior High School for 17 years, and has guest-conducted for Iowa Honors Orchestras. She was awarded the Leopold LaFosse Studio Teacher Award from the Iowa String Teachers Association in 2017. Ms. Duchow graduated from Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Music Education and has continued String Education work with Doris Preucil, John Kendall, Scott Conklin and at Northwestern University. She has been teaching in the Dubuque area for more than 35 years, also including the Dubuque schools, University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Loras College, and her private studio.

“Professor Duchow is integrated into our ensemble and chamber selections so seamlessly that you can witness her embodying her dual role as a virtuosic performer and a master teacher in performance. We are fortunate to have her on faculty, as our community liaison for the Clarke String Orchestra, and presenting this intimate and collaborative variation on Clarke’s annual Christmas program for the Dubuque community,” said Huntleigh.

General admission tickets are $12 and the program is free for Clarke students, employees, and guests under the age of 18. Tickets can be reserved online at www.clarke.edu/forablessedchristmas or by phone at (563) 588-6412, and payment will be accepted only via cash or check at the door. Clarke University requires masks to be worn in all campus buildings at this time.