Holliston November 2018

November 2018 Holliston Local Town Pages www.localtownpages.com Page 17
Exsultet! to Kick Off December
with Concert
Kicks Off 2018-2019
Season, Its 6th
Exsultet!, the premiere Metrowest
women’s ensemble,
today offered a sneak peak of its
sixth season of choral concerts.
On December 1st in a show entitled
“Sing Heigh-Ho! Unto the
Green Holly!” at First Congregational
Church in Holliston, they
will perform Christmas and Hanukkah
favorites as well as songs
celebrating the winter solstice.
Featured will be the premiere of
“Aspects of Yule,” a piece composed
for Exsultet by local composer
Eva Kendrick. Jubilate,
Exsultet’s youth choir featuring
the voices of children in grades
four through eight, will also be
performing under the direction
of Holliston teacher Chrissy Petersen.
On March 2, 2019, Exsultet!
celebrates the elements – earth,
wind, and fire – in “We Are the
Stars Which Sing” at the Church
of Christ in Millis. The final concert
of the season will be on May
18, 2019, when Exsultet and Jubilate
revel in songs about the
sea in “With Ships the Sea Was
Sprinkled Far and Nigh.”
Planning for a new season
begins in late May immediately
after the close of the last concert.
Artistic Director Richard Larraga
garners themes from various
sources including books, TV,
and movies. For example, for the
May concert, he drew his inspiration
from Star Trek IV: The
Voyage Home when Kirk says,
“The sea is cold but the sea contains
the hottest blood of all,”
which is taken from the D.H.
Lawrence poem Whales Weep
Not. From there, he spends the
summer hours looking for music
to fit the theme.
Exsultet! brings together a
younger generation of women
who live busy lives balancing
work and family but feel compelled
to make time for music.
“For many of the ladies, Exsultet
is the activity they do for themselves.
They bond over their love
of music, but also share the issues
and concerns of their daily
lives with one another. Over the
course of the past seasons, I’ve
seen deep friendships grow,”
notes Larraga.
Please go to www.exsultet.us
to learn more about how to purchase
advance tickets.
Jubilate! An Extension of the
Mission Exsultet!
by J.D. O’Gara
“Education is really an important
part of Exsultet’s mission,”
says the elite women’s chorus
director Richard A.A. Larraga.
“We have a number of music
teachers in the group that want
to pass on training and music
theory.”
Jubilate!, now a group of 13
young singers in grades 4-7 from
Holliston, Medway and Millis,
has just entered its second
season. The group will perform
in the upcoming December 1st
Solstice celebration by Exsultet!,
Sing heigh-ho! Unto the Green
Holly!
“(Jubilate’s) conductor is
Chrissy Petersonk who teaches
in the Holliston Public Schools,”
says Larraga. “We have a very
excited and focused group. They
really love to sing, and they love
rehearsals, and their learning
their music very well.”
The children are trained in
music reading, says Larraga,
learning solfege
They learn training in music
reading using solfege, a method
of teaching where they learn
hand positions with a pitch. “It’s
a way to learn sight reading,”
says Larraga. “Later on, when
someone gives them a piece of
music, they can read it. It’s different
for singers than instrumental.”
In the future, Larraga envisions
Jubilate! performing in its
own concerts, but for now, the
youth group sings in two of three
of the Exsultet! season.
Holliston Wins
2018 America in
Bloom Outstanding
Achievement Award
(Columbus, OH): Top honors
for the prestigious 2018 America
in Bloom National Awards Program
were announced at the
annual symposium and awards
celebration held in Lexington,
KY on September 29.
Holliston was the winner of
the outstanding achievement
award for Celebrating Heritage.
Holliston received a 7-star rating
out of a possible 10 stars and received
special recognition for its
Celebrating Heritage. Douglas
Airhart & Shannon Beatty, AIB
judges, spent two days touring
the community, meeting municipal
officials, residents, and volunteers.
Other communities in the
Circle of Champions - Grande
population category were Arroyo
Grande, CA; Morro Bay, CA;
and Washington, MO.
All participants were evaluated
on seven criteria: overall
impression, community vitality,
environmental efforts, heritage
celebration, urban forestry, landscaped
areas, and flowers. Additionally,
they were judged on
their community involvement
across municipal, residential,
and commercial sectors. America
in Bloom is the only national
awards program that sends
specially trained judges to personally
visit participants. In addition,
each participant receives
a detailed written evaluation that
can be used as a guide to future
improvements.
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America in Bloom executive
director, Laura Kunkle, said,
“America in Bloom is helping
towns and cities of all sizes
achieve their potential. Every
year our participants raise the
bar, and the accomplishments
and progress shown by this year’s
group is again remarkable. These
are, without a doubt, some of the
best places to live in America.”
To date, more than 250 communities
from 45 states have
participated in the program and
more than 22 million people have
been touched by it. Registrations
for the 2018 national awards
program can be submitted until
February 28, 2020. Eligible participants
include towns, cities,
college and university campuses,
business districts, military installations,
and recognized neighborhoods
of large cities.