SAN LUIS VALLEY—Mt. Blanca Fine Arts Association will be presenting four Concert of Carols performances this year. Performances will be on Friday, Dec. 22 at 1 p.m. in the Colorado College Auditorium in Crestone; Friday, Dec. 22nd, at 7 p.m. at the Del Norte High School auditorium; Saturday, Dec. 23 at 2 p.m. in Richardson Hall on the Adams State University campus and Saturday, Dec. 23 at 7 p.m. in Fort Garland (candlelight concert). Tickets for all performances will be available at the door or can be reserved in advance online at www.mtblancafineartsassociation.com. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors/students.

Music performed will include seasonal pieces by Adam, Jenkins, Piazolla, Vivaldi, Yon and others.  The second half of the program will include the traditional audience sing-a-long.   Also on the second half of the program will be the American premier of "Snow:  II Falling" by Australian composer Felicity Wilcox.

Concert of Carols serves several purposes: present holiday concerts for the community given by a group of professional musicians; provide a source of revenue to fund scholarships for the Mt. Blanca Summer Music Conservatory; allow conservatory students the opportunity to perform in a concert setting alongside professional musicians, and bring to the Valley young artists in the process of establishing their careers.

Participants in the Seventh Annual Concert of Carols include:

Seventh year: Randy D. Macy, pianist, Fort Garland.  25+ years community college music faculty, 20 years as a professional church musician in Denver/Metro area, five years as collaborative pianist at Adams State University.

Sixth year: Dr. Sarah Off, violinist, Phoenix. Artistic director of Mt. Blanca Summer Music Conservatory, member of Tandem Duo, community college faculty, private violin instructor in Phoenix.

Fifth year: Nicole KandeLind, vocalist, Denver. Candelight Dinner Theatre in Fort Collins, Opera Colorado chorus, First Mennonite Church (Denver) choir director, violist for Denver-based string quartet.

Third year: Corliss Taylor Dunn, vocalist, Fort Garland. Broadway Veteran (Bubbling Brown Sugar and Raisen), Toured U.S., Mexico and Canada with the Doc Severnsen Orchestra. Toured Europe in Raisen and PORGY AND BESS.

Third year: Annelore Tujillo, ballet, Trinidad. Featured dancer with the New York City Dance Alliance and the Southern Colorado Repertory Theatre, private dance studio in Trinidad.

Second year:  Kevin Gwinn, vocalist, Denver:  Choral director at Denver Waldorf School, 2016 Young Voices of Mississippi Competition winner, 2015 and 2016 finalist in the Denver Lyric Opera Guild’s Competition for Young Singers.

First year:  Dr. Tracy Doyle, flutist, Alamosa. Professor of music at Adams State University, 2016 National Flute Association Convention Performers Competition winner, performed with numerous symphony orchestras.

First year:  Dr. Jim Doyle, percussionist, Alamosa. Associate professor of music at Adams State University has toured Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe. His performances have appeared on PBS, CNN, NBC, ABC, and CBS as well as numerous NPR broadcasts.

First year:  David Schneider, vocalist, Alamosa. Director of San Luis Valley Community Chorus.

First year:  Dean Swift, cellist, Tucson, Ariz., former Alamosa resident.

Second year: Seanna MacKay, violinist and Iava Williams, vocalist, summer music conservatory students.

First year: Oasis, Allinger, violinist; Marshall Hollingsworth, vocalist; Morgan Hollingsworth, flutist/vocalist; William Kelb, clarinetist; Lauren Manzanares, pianist/vocalist; Dereck Rodriguez, pianist, summer music conservatory students.

First year:  Lais Harmsen, vocalist and Skye Montoya, vocalist, Adams State College senior music majors.