Southwest publicist Bonnie Kane said attendees can expect a set list of classic but diverse Christmas songs that range from an Irving Berlin medley to “Somewhere in My Memory,” a song known from the film “Home Alone,” which also is the choral group’s theme song, Kane said.
“It’s just so beautiful,” Kane said.
She notes that the group will kick off the show with a Nat King Cole classic, “Autumn Leaves,” as well as “Still, Still, Still” and “Lullaby of the Christ Child,” songs that tie nicely into the show’s theme of Christmas Memories.
“We’re going to start with autumn leaves because the autumn leaves have fallen, but it’s not quite winter yet,” Kane said with a laugh.
The group plans to close the night with “Gaudeamus Hodie,” a classic title that translates to “Let Us Be Joyful Today.”
Southwest Singers director Ruth Wilson Francisco pulled many of the songs from archives of the former choir, the Cortez Choraliers.
Though the show’s theme is a bit different, the Southwest Singers aren’t diverting from their tried-and-true formula of performing recognizable classics.
“We often do a lot of the old kind of favorites that people don’t remember,” Kane said. “This show is definitely going to bring back a lot of memories.”
The Southwest Singers’ spring performance, Spring Zing, proved to be a hit, featuring musical standards from yesteryear made popular by music icons like Paul Anka, Connie Francis, Judy Garland, Willie Nelson and Elvis Presley.
Friday’s Christmas concert will feature piano accompaniment from Joi Steffen as well as a “delightful duet” from brother and sister singers, Carol Orrell-Patton and John Patton.
Since last Christmas, the nine-singer group also got a new member, Cheri Valley, of Cortez. Kane says they’d love to recruit more performers.
The Southwest Singers’ Christmas Memories concert will be at 7 p.m. at First Methodist Church, 515 N. Park in Cortez. An informal reception follows.