EVANSTON — A standing ovation in a packed auditorium greeted the performers at the conclusion of the Evanston Community Christmas Gala, “Light of the World,” hosted by the Evanston Civic Orchestra and Chorus on Friday, Dec. 1, at Davis Middle School. Featuring both the ECOC and musical selections from several other local groups and churches, the concert proved to be an engaging and enjoyable showcase for abundant local talent. 

Prior to the concert, a family Christmas party featured kids’ games and activities, food, a gingerbread village, a silent auction and bake sale fundraiser, and live music from the jazz trio of Kevin Blackwell, Tom Mealey and Chad George. Judging by the parking situation, the family party was a huge success — a full parking lot and street parking left attendees parking down residential side streets in the DMS area. 

After an hour of family fun, the concert itself opened with two selections by the Evanston Women’s Chorus, directed by Crystal Roskelley-Delgado. Following the women’s renditions of “The Christmas Waltz” and “In the Bleak Midwinter,” the Aspen Church Tabernacle Choir of three took the stage. 

The trio, featuring instrumental accompaniment with a guitar and banjo, performed “The Little Drummer Boy.” Aspen Church Pastor Robert Douglas remained on stage afterward with just his voice and guitar for a solo version of “Frazier Fir in Florida,” a song of faith from the perspective of a Christmas tree. 

Although Christmas was already in the air, the Evanston Handbell Choir’s selection of “The Holly and the Joy”, featuring white-gloved women and one man, created a definite holiday mood with an assortment of bells. 

Vocalists from St. Paul’s Episcopal, Trinity Lutheran and Union Presbyterian Churches joined forces to perform two songs prior to the Evanston Men’s Chorus taking the stage. The Men’s Chorus provided one of the definite highlights of the evening with their performance of “O Little Town of Bethlehem/Betelehemu.” 

“Betelehemu,” a Nigerian Christmas carol, featured the men singing in the Yoruba language of Nigeria, as well as accompanying percussion. The men swayed, danced, clapped and sang with obvious enthusiasm, especially soloist Immanuel Lange. Lange’s joyous performance captivated the audience, with some attendees overheard whispering about how the young man should audition for a reality television show. 

Other performers during the evening included an instrumental quartet of three flutes and a harp and the Elm Street LDS Church Choir performing “When the Son of God was Born.” The unaccompanied eight-person Madrigal Singers provided a dose of old-fashioned holiday fun with their version of “Jingle Bells.” 

The duo of singer Beverly Taggart and singer/guitarist Allan Dancer took the stage for “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” before the combined Evanston Civic Chorus performed two more songs. 

Chorus co-director Nathan Baxter took some time to recognize all of the choirs and performers. “We’re really blessed to have so many talented people in our community,” said Baxter. He also gave special recognition to piano accompanist and choir member, Sara Maisey. 

“You could call Sara the mastermind, but I prefer megamind instead,” he said. “She spends countless hours putting this together. We’re not sure she sleeps.” Baxter said the entire gala was put together in about four weeks with a huge amount of work by Maisey, including the family party, auction, bake sale, food, working with all of the other choirs, determining the order of performances, designing and printing the programs, etc. 

Maisey was also instrumental in putting together a community service slideshow that included photos of individuals and groups in the community performing good deeds throughout the past year. The slideshow was accompanied by Beverly Taggart and was titled, “How Have You Been a Light in the World?” 

The Evanston Civic Orchestra used the slideshow as a stage break to set up for their portion of the concert. Directed by conductor Nick Harker, the orchestra performed “The Christmas Waltz,” followed by “Christmas Memories.” 

The latter selection featured a medley of traditional holiday favorites, like “Frosty the Snowman,” “Here Comes Santa Claus,” “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” 

The finale of the evening allowed all of the evening’s talent to take the stage one last time for a combined emotional performance of “Away in a Manger,” featuring all of the choirs and instrumentalists. 

After the audience members took to their feet and filled the auditorium with applause, attendees and performers alike ventured into the cold winter night, likely taking some of the warmth of the season with them.