The sounds of the holidays around the Lower Mainland will most certainly consist of harmonious uke strums once again as the 91原创 Ukulele Ensemble (LUE) ready for their annual Themes of Christmas concert.
The concert, held Saturday, Dec. 7 at the Chief Sepass Theatre, 9096 Trattle St. in Fort 91原创, is comprised of Senior A and B ensembles members, spanning from ages 10 to 17.
Paolo Luongo, senior ensemble director, said there will plenty different themes to get people into seasonal spirit.
鈥淚t鈥檚 broken down into different themes, so you鈥檒l hear familiar themes like the Nutcracker to Charlie Brown. There鈥檚 the themes of bells and the themes of familiar characters like Frosty, Santa, and Rudolph,鈥� Luongo said.
The telling of the Christmas story through uke music will also be part of the program with video clips illustrating Mary and Joseph鈥檚 journey.
A solo performer will also tackle a rendition of Antonio Vivaldi鈥檚 Winter.
Luongo said his father Peter, aka 鈥渢he uke man,鈥� will make an appearance to facilitate his annual rendition of 鈥淭he 12 Days of Christmas鈥� activities鈥� using the months of audience member鈥檚 births.
鈥淚t鈥檚 to get people into season. It鈥檚 that time of year that鈥檚 enjoyable or perhaps provides some challenges for some. We want to bring joy to people鈥檚 lives,鈥� Luongo explained. 鈥淭here鈥檚 plenty of singing 鈥� we like to get the crowd involved and just get people in the mood for Christmas.鈥�
LUE is certainly doing their part to make sure as many people as possible have a merry Christmas; the ensemble is performing just about daily at a variety of charitable functions, including the CTV Toy Mountain, Global TV鈥檚 Wish Breakfast, and the CKNW Kid鈥檚 Fund pledge day.
People can catch them at the 91原创 Christmas Wish Breakfast on Nov. 26, Willowbrook Mall on Dec. 5 and 6, and GLOW at the Abbotsford Tradex on Dec. 14, to name a few.
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They鈥檒l even be stopping by a variety of retirement homes like Sunnyside Manor and White Rock Senior鈥檚 village and performing an additional Christmas concert at South 91原创 Church on Dec. 20.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the busiest times of the year for the ensemble,鈥� Luongo assured. 鈥淗aving established a reputation over the years, it鈥檚 something we want to continue.鈥�
People can visit to see the full schedule of performances and purchase tickets.
Themes of Christmas, among other performances this season, are not just a way to showcase talent and spread holiday spirit, Luongo noted, but also one of the main ways LUE funds their programming and trips to Waikiki and the soon to be National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) in Anaheim, CA.
Ticket sales go towards expenses, as do the sales of Uke merchandise and CD鈥檚, such as their most recent recording, 鈥淥ne Love, One Heart.鈥�
Themes of Christmas runs 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., Dec. 7.
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