The Grammy® Award-winning Houston Chamber Choir, under the direction of Robert Simpson, presents “On this Day Earth Shall Ring – Christmas at the Villa” Saturday, Dec. 10 and Sunday, Dec. 11. Two concerts will be performed each day. The choir is coming home for the holidays as it returns after a two-year absence to the Chapel of the Villa de Matel in Houston’s East End for its annual Christmas concerts. The serene beauty of the Chapel is a perfect setting for the enchanting array of traditional carols and new Christmas favorites.

Houston Chamber Choir will once again be joined by the Treble Choir of Houston directed by Marianna Parnas-Simpson. Well-known classical guitarist Marc Garvin is welcomed as a special guest. Gather your family and friends for the gift of music in this festive Houston holiday tradition.

In the giving spirit of the holidays, patrons are invited to bring items to donate to The Beacon, a nonprofit in downtown Houston that works to end homelessness and restore hope. Needed are disposable razors, new socks, toiletries, medical scrubs and new or gently used bath towels.

Saturday, Dec. 10 at 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. CT and Sunday, Dec. 11 at 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. CT

Villa de Matel, 6510 Lawndale St, Houston TX 77023

Single tickets are $40 for regular admission, with discounts for students, seniors, veterans/military and music educators. Visit https://www.houstonchamberchoir.org/on-this-day-earth-shall-ring to purchase tickets.

Community partners for “On this Day Earth Shall Ring – Christmas at the Villa” are The Beacon and Methodist Hospital, Houston.

Check out our website at HoustonChamberChoir.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Houston Chamber Choir

Led by Founder and Artistic Director Robert Simpson, the Houston Chamber Choir is a Grammy® Award-winning ensemble of 24 professional musicians selected from the finest choral artists in our region. “One of the jewels of the city’s cultural scene” (Houston Chronicle), the Houston Chamber Choir has brought Houston an array of choral works for 26 years ranging from early music and Baroque masterpieces, including the city’s first period instrument performance of Bach’s B Minor Mass, to the rarely heard Third Sacred Concert by Duke Ellington, and performances and premieres of works by today’s leading composers, many with Houston ties — David Ashley White, Christopher Theofanidis, Dominick DiOrio, J. Todd Frazier, Mark Buller, Karim Al-Zand, Pierre Jalbert, Marcus Maroney, and Daniel Knaggs.

The Houston Chamber Choir’s awards include Chorus America’s Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence and the American Prize. They were one of 24 international ensembles selected to appear at the 2020 World Symposium on Choral Music in New Zealand. The Houston Chamber Choir has appeared at national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, the American Guild of Organists, and Chorus America. Tours have taken them to Mexico, Wales, and the Northeastern United States where they performed at Trinity Church, Wall Street in New York City, and Yale University at the invitation of the Institute of Sacred Music.

The Houston Chamber Choir's recording of the complete choral works of French composer Maurice Duruflé was awarded the 2019 Grammy® Award for Best Choral Performance. In January 2022, Signum Classics released its newest recording of compositions by acclaimed British composer Bob Chilcott. For this recording, the Houston Chamber Choir is joined by the Treble Choir of Houston directed by Marianna Parnas-Simpson. The title work, Circlesong, is a 13-movement composition for two choirs, two pianos, and percussion based on indigenous poetry of North America.

About the Treble Choir of Houston

The Treble Choir of Houston is a nurturing community of young women grade 6-12 that provides them with exceptional interpersonal and musical experiences.

Through Treble Choir projects participants from diverse cultural, educational and socio-economic backgrounds find their voices as singers, artists and women in a musical environment that empowers them. Treble Choir was founded in 2006 by Marianna Parnas-Simpson and has flourished artistically since then. The philosophy that only the best is good enough has been a constant guiding principle.

This choral ensemble performs widely in the community and serves as the resident children’s choir at Christ Church Cathedral, Episcopal.

Our repertoire is diverse, coming from many periods in the western classical tradition, sung in many languages, and includes world music, jazz and Broadway selections.

Our mission is to help each singer realize her full potential as a person and a musician. Self-esteem, confidence and leadership skills are cultivated through the environment of love, respect and support.