Comfort food, those special dishes each of us has that nourish more than just our bodies. They help us smooth over life’s emotional and spiritual rough spots, which have been numerous in 2009. For this holiday season, we present an evening of comfort music, including songs of the season — some familiar, some new favorites — each one chosen because it soothes the battered soul.

Spend a December evening with us and connect with your serene side. The program includes Richard Nance’s radiant Magnificat, Edvard Grieg’s lovely Ave Maris Stella, and Javier Busto’s Ave Maria, as well as holiday selections by John Tavener, Eric Whitacre, Jan Sandström, Felix Mendelssohn and others.

Words have limitations. As choral musicians, we know that music can add so much to a text. Poets may disagree, but they can find satisfaction in knowing that their words are so often the inspiration for the composer. We’ll feature Randall Thompson’s Frostiana, “seven country songs” on texts by Robert Frost. Other poets include Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Carl Sandburg, Lord Byron and e.e. cummings. Other composers include Z. Randall Stroupe, Normand Lockwood, Eric William Barnum, Neil Ginsburg and Charles Stanford.

Together with the outstanding Bellevue Chamber Chorus, directed by Fredrick Lokken, the Northwest Chamber Chorus presents a stunning program of tribute and remembrance. Featured are magnificent works for double chorus by Robert Schumann, in honor of his 200th anniversary year, John Rutter’s exciting Hymn to the Creator of Light, written as a tribute to composer Herbert Howells, and Howells' sublime and deeply personal Requiem, composed as he grieved the loss of his young son.

Each choir also presents pieces of their own, including Henryk Górecki's monumental Totus Tuus, and Brahms' lush motet O Heiland, reiss die Himmel auf. Don't miss these inspiring concerts of choral masterworks by two of the region's premiere ensembles.

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Programs and venues are subject to change. All concert seating is festival. Children ages 6-12 admitted free with paying adult.