We have enjoyed sharing Connections & Reflections with you! Today we wrap up this email series and wish you a joyful and peaceful end to the 2020 calendar year.

Songs of Comfort and Joy

Last night, BCS members gathered around our Zoom screens for a "launch party” to celebrate the release of our Holiday Card Project. Together we watched the fruits of our labor: ten virtual holiday cards, each with a unique vocal flavor and style. Weeks ago, singers had recorded their voices in song, alone at home—a terrifying challenge, by the way!—and last night was the first time we had the opportunity to watch and hear the finished pieces. In addition to singing, some members played horn or recorder; others wrote new and creative arrangements of beloved carols. A few board members spent many hours editing video, looking for just the right image to go with the music, audio-mixing the sound of our voices together, and coaxing other local musicians and organizations to submit videos to the project. It was a labor of love. Music Director Gerry Sousa coached us, encouraged us, and inspired us to try our best. The result? Truly memorable vignettes of peace, joy, and memories of the holiday season; a project that many other local music groups contributed to as well; and a true community holiday celebration—a way to be close even though we need to be apart right now.

BCS sings "Hallelujah Chorus" from Messiah.

Now, it's your turn to listen, share, and maybe get a little choked up at this music of great feeling, poignancy, and beauty, both from BCS and from our community collaborators.

There are two ways to listen from our website (www.chambersingers.info):

1. Click and choose one song at a time from the "thumbnail" links of each individual song. (You can enlarge the video to full-screen size by clicking on the "square" shape in the video's lower right corner.)

2. Click on the link to the YouTube playlist, where you can listen to all of the songs in a row, uninterrupted.

In conclusion, we share with you what Gerry wrote to BCS: "This long darkness in which we have found ourselves will, before long, give way once again to light, and we will pick up where we stopped."

Happy holidays to all.

Many thanks to our sponsors and grantors, who made this project possible.