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Rockin' Holiday Concert Comes to APSU Dec. 3

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – A holiday show titled “Silent Night” might conjure up images of a dignified and serious performance, but a new concert by that name coming to Austin Peay State University next month promises to be a more casual, pop-infused holiday experience.

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – A holiday show titled “Silent Night” might conjure up images of a dignified and serious performance, but a new concert by that name coming to Austin Peay State University next month promises to be a more casual, pop-infused holiday experience.

“Silent Night – An Evening of Holiday Music,” which begins at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 3 in the Music/Mass Communication Concert Hall, will showcase a band featuring Allison Campbell and David Alford on vocals, Paul Carrol Binkley on guitar, Tony Nagy on bass, Matt DeVore on drums and David Steinquest, APSU professor of music, on percussion. The performance will also include special guests Stanley Yates, professor of music, on guitar, Desiree Dolan on vocals and the APSU Percussion Ensemble.

“I wanted it to be a little more like a pop concert than a serious concert,” Steinquest said. “That way it’s complimentary to other holiday events that are being presented. It gives people a different option.”

The concert will feature an eclectic mix of Christmas standards in new arrangements – such as “Silent Night,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” – and some less well-known tunes deserving more attention, including “In the Bleak Midwinter,” “Little Road to Bethlehem” and “December.”

“The music we’re doing is more pop-like than some of what we’ve done before,” Steinquest said. “I’ve looked at influences like Amy Grant and Kenny G, who has some really nice Christmas albums. Shawn Colvin, a pop music vocalist, has got such a different take on Christmas. Her music is still very accessible and popular.”

Works by popular Christian artists such as Erin O’Donnell and Rosie Thomas will also be performed during the night.

The stage in the concert hall will be decorated like a living room with couches and a Christmas tree, giving the evening a casual, intimate atmosphere. The band will begin the night with a performance of the classic “Silent Night.” The show will end with a Rosie Thomas rendition of that song, which retains the original words but plays with the music.

“The text is the same,” Steinquest said. “You’re completely familiar with the words being sung, but what you’re given is a whole other melody.”

Admission to “Silent Night – An Evening of Holiday Music” is two cans of food, donated to Loaves & Fishes, or $3. Tickets go on sale Dec. 1 in the APSU music office. For more information, contact Norma Jean Smith at 221-7818.