Sunday, December 17, 10:30am
Hotel Posada de La Aldea, Ancha de San Antonio 15
Free

The Gift Of Music, UU Service -spirit

by Jon Sievert

With Ken Bichel, Xavier Gibler, Malcolm Halliday, and Paula Peace

At this week’s Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Service, an outstanding cast of acclaimed performers from the San Miguel musical community present songs and piano music to celebrate the awe and magic of the holiday season.

The diverse, mostly-music program features classical pianists Malcolm Halliday and Paula Peace performing solo and together in 4-hand repertoire, crossover pianist Ken Bichel, and singer/guitarist Xavier Gibler making his debut at the UU Fellowship.

Non-denominational readings and reflections for the heart and spirit will focus on our common values of love, light. and peace. Cherished holiday favorites - from “Silent Night” and Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” to international songs of the season in Spanish and English – have been selected to celebrate the diversity of our UU Fellowship and San Miguel community.

Pianist Ken Bichel is an Emmy-award winning composer, producer, and performer for television and numerous Hollywood feature films. His eclectic approach to the piano is an amalgam of multi-national styles and influences.

Singer and guitarist Xavier Gibler is a rich baritone with the nuances of a dramatic-romantic tenor and moves easily through a wide variety of genres, from sacred music and Hebrew chant, to operetta, Neapolitan songs, tango, blues, boleros and international romantic croons.

Pianist Malcolm Halliday was most recently director of Arts on the Green, a concert series at the First Congregational Church of Shrewsbury, MA, where he served as Minister of Music for 28 years before retiring recently to San Miguel.

Nationally recognized as a pioneer among chamber musicians, Paula Peace was the pianist and founding Artistic Director of the acclaimed Atlanta Chamber Players for almost 40 seasons before retiring to San Miguel in 2014.

After the music service, you can shop at the Second Annual Holiday Bazaar. This is an event to celebrate the UU Fellowship’s artists, poets, writers, jewelers, and craftspeople.

Finally, but not least, we invite you to bring an unwrapped toy gift for a campo child of age 5-12. We are seeking toys such as a soccer ball, a doll or cuddly toy, games, a truck, small purses and fuzzy pillows, and crayons and coloring books.

The UU Fellowship meets every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at La Posada de Aldea, Ancha de San Antonio #15, and welcomes people of all ages, races, religions, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The room is wheelchair accessible. For more information, visit our website at www.uufsma.org.