Prestigious local singers headline holiday ‘Celebration of Song’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Alltech Celebration of Song marks its 20th anniversary with local singers.
- Winners of the Alltech Vocal Scholarship and UK Opera students perform.
- Free concerts on Dec. 14 at Alltech Arena close Lexington’s 250th year.
Inspired by performances in Brazil, the Alltech Celebration of Song will again this year celebrate the holiday season and some of the city’s prestigious singers.
During two performances on Sunday, Dec. 14, winners of the Alltech Vocal Scholarship Competition, as well as members of the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre and other special guests, will sing more than 20 Christmas melodies to usher in the holiday season.
The celebration was inspired by Dr. Pearce Lyons’ dream of bringing a Brazilian tradition to Kentucky. There, the Cantata de Natal brings children to the windows of the historic Avenida Palace to sing Christmas songs. Lyons’, an Irish scientist who immigrated to the United States in the late 1970s, was an entrepreneur who taught distillers how to create fuel alcohol as a petroleum supplement. Later, he founded Alltech, now a global biotechnology company that develops science-backed solutions for animal nutrition, crop science and fermentation.
Together with Dr. Everett McCorvey, director of UK’s Opera Theater, Lyons created the Alltech Celebration of Song in 2005. The celebration provides students with the opportunity to sing on stage. Winners of the Alltech Vocal Scholarship Competition, which also had its 20th anniversary this year, will perform accompanied by a professional orchestra, and will lead the audience in some of the songs.
“It is hard to believe that this is our 20th year sharing holiday music with the community,” McCorvey wrote in the events’ program. “Alltech and the Lyons family have been such amazing supporters of UK Opera Theatre and all our students, creating opportunities for them to ‘do,’ as Pearse used to say, ‘what makes your heart sing’ in Lexington and beyond.”
The event is part of the city’s 250Lex celebration, the year-long series of events to celebrate the city’s founding in 1775. Mayor Linda Gorton said the performance was a timely topper to the past 12 months of festivities throughout the city.
“We are all so proud that our community history stretches all the way back to 1775, one year before the signing of the Declaration of Independence,” Gorton said. “Although the Alltech Celebration of Song hasn’t been around quite as long, it is marking its 20th anniversary this year. It is an honor to join in the celebration of this important milestone as our 250th anniversary year comes to a close.”
The performances will be held at 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 14 at the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park. Doors will open at 1:30 p.m. Parking and admission to the performance are free.