The JHS A Cappella Choir is pictured during a recent performance for the Rotary Club of Jamestown.The choir will present its 101st annual A Cappella Vespers on Sunday, Dec. 14, and Sunday, Dec. 21, at 4 p.m. at First Lutheran Church, 120 Chandler St.

The Jamestown High School A Cappella Choir will present its 101st annual A Cappella Vespers on Sunday, Dec. 14, and Sunday, Dec. 21, at 4 p.m. at First Lutheran Church, 120 Chandler St.

Admission is free and an offering will be taken.

“After a thrilling 100th anniversary of the choir, we are excited to bring the tradition of Vespers into the next century. The choir has been extremely hard working and are going to put on an incredible concert.” said Lauren Scharf, choir director. “You’ll hear our traditional songs such as, “Kyrie”, “Silent Night”, and “Fum Fum Fum”, as well as some new additions.”

The 50-voice A Cappella Choir features smaller ensembles, including the Madrigal Singers, Men of Tomorrow and Ladies of Today. The choir will be accompanied on the piano by Julie Livengood and on the organ by Brian A. Bogey, the choir’s director emeritus. The Madrigal Singers are also scheduled to perform at a number of holiday events across the Jamestown community.

Established by the ensemble’s founder, Ebba Goranson, in 1924, the Vespers are sacred music concerts performed each December at First Lutheran Church, featuring excerpts from major choral works and seasonal songs and carols to help provide a bit of cheer during the holiday season.

Choral music education has enjoyed a long, rich tradition at Jamestown High School and is coming off of its 100th anniversary season. Goranson directed the choir from 1924 until her passing in 1957. Donald B. Bubé served as choral director from 1958-1981. Bogey became the first alumnus of the choir to hold the director’s position in 1982 and, since his retirement in 2003, he continues to support the efforts of the A Cappella through friendship, counsel, and as organist. From 2004 to 2020, Norman Lydell served as director and continues to provide counsel to and support to the choir in many ways.

Through its travels across the country and globe, the choir is known as the “Choir of Cathedrals.” Venues have included, among many others, the National Shrine Basilica and National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C; New York City’s famed Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, and Saint John the Divine Cathedral; Boston’s Old North Church, St. Michael’s R.C. Cathedral in Toronto, Canada; and St. Stephan’s Cathedral in Vienna, (home of the Vienna Boys Choir).

The choir also has participated in several master classes at prestigious universities and has performed at a number of professional sporting events and historical sites. In December 2009, the Madrigal Singers performed with recording artist Kenny Rogers and in December 2015, the choir performed with performing artist Jim Brickman. The choir has also performed at Walt Disney World twice: at Disney Springs in 2014 and in EPCOT’s Candlelight Processional, narrated by Academy Award-winning actress Marlee Matlin, in 2019 and performed with Buffalo-based theater organization, Starring Buffalo, in a 2023 production of “Sister Act: The Musical.”

The choir is coming off a centennial celebration during the 2024-25 school year, highlighted by nearly 400 alumni returning to perform in a special Alumni Vespers last December. To mark the special occasion, alumni raised funds to refurbish the ensemble’s Baldwin rehearsal piano. Illos Piano Restoration of Buffalo completed the refurbishments over the summer and early fall before returning the piano to the choir room recently.