Boys choir adds 2nd concert in annual Christmas performance

For the 39th installment of the Birmingham Boys Choir’s annual Christmas performance, the group decided to reckon with the space issues the concert has seen over the last few years.

“Over the years, our audiences have grown,” director Ken Berg said. Last year, the concert was standing room only, and in an effort to make sure as many guests can comfortably see and engage in the annual concert, he said they decided to add a second performance.

The first performance is Dec. 11 at 2:30 p.m., and the second is Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Both shows still will be free, but tickets are required to ensure that everyone has a seat.

The concert will feature the classic Christmas hymns and tunes audiences love, Berg said, something he said he thinks some people feel they don’t get enough of elsewhere during the holidays.

“These carols that they love, it’s an opportunity to actually do them,” he said. 

In addition to the traditional carols and spirituals, the concert also will be introducing the work of a new composer, who just so happens to be a Birmingham Boys Choir alumnus.

Skip Stradtman, who graduated from Florida State University after being in the boys’ choir, is a music teacher in Florida. Berg said Stradtman has been doing a lot of writing, and that the choir is excited to introduce his pieces for the first time.

The event will once again be at Canterbury United Methodist Church in Mountain Brook, where the performance has been for many years.

The choir, however, now calls Vestavia Hills home. After the building its office was in was sold, the choir relocated its operations to Vestavia. “We’re very happy to be there,” Berg said.

He said the choir itself is also expanding, hosting satellite rehearsals around the Birmingham area to include as many young singers as possible.

“We go where the boys are,” he said, and added he thinks it’s valuable to have the boys meet and get to know other children from different geographic, religious, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.

“It’s really a beautiful thing to watch,” he said.

For more information on the choir or to reserve a free ticket to the concert, go to birminghamboyschoir.com.