With the holidays fast approaching, it is time (if you haven’t already done it) to plan on taking in some seasonal music. As always, there are lots of events coming up in Seattle, but if choral music is your passion this is your time of year.

Check out the Tudor Choir – they are one of the finest small vocal ensembles in the world, and they are presenting a program titled In Dulci Jubilo featuring Renaissance carols and motets from England, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. The concert is Friday, December 30 at 7:30 PM at the Blessed Sacrament Church, 5041 9th Ave. NE in Seattle.

For a bigger sound, you can hear Seattle Pro Musica perform Celtic Christmas, a concert of traditional Celtic choral music, as well as new music by composers from Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Note that their previously scheduled concerts have sold out, but you’re not out of luck. They have scheduled an additional performance for Friday, December 16 at 8:00 PM at the beautiful Bastyr University Chapel, 14500 Juanita Drive NE in Kenmore.

Also not to be missed for choral music, the Northwest Boychoir presents a Christmas concert at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, December 21st at Benaroya Hall. This concert, titled A Festival of Lessons & Carols, features the 80-member combined chorus of the Northwest Boychoir and Vocalpoint! Seattle, along with members of the Northwest Sinfonia. “Patterned after the Christmas Eve observance at King’s College in Cambridge, England, A Festival of Lessons & Carols has become a holiday tradition for thousands of families in the greater Seattle area. This classical performance consists of nine holiday readings, each followed by a traditional carol performed by the choir, and another carol sung by the choir and audience”.

And… where would Christmas be without Handel’s Messiah? Well, there will be no shortage, including:
    • The Bellevue Philharmonic performance at 5 PM. on December 12 at Westminster Chapel, 13646 N.E. 24th St., Bellevue
    • The Seattle Symphony and Chorale performances on December 16-19 at Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., Seattle (performance times vary, so be sure to check your date of interest  at http://www.seattlesymphony.org/)

Or if you prefer to sing (or play) along, try…
    • The Messiah Sing-In with Orchestra and Soloists, at 7 PM on Dec. 12, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 14536 Main St., Bellevue
    • The Handel’s Messiah Sing-and-Play-Along at 7 PM on December 26 at University Unitarian Church, 6556 35th Ave. N.E., Seattle
    • The Northwest Chorale: Handel’s Messiah Sing-Along at 7 PM on December 30th at St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church, 722 N. 145th St. in Shoreline

That should keep the ears, and maybe even the vocal cords, happy right through to the New Year.