Ho Ho Ho! Deck the Halls with Songs of Christmas as the award-winning vocal jazz quintet & National Champions of the 2022 Harmony Sweepstakes, HIGHLINE VOCAL JAZZ, brings the purity of their vocal harmony, elegant musicality, & contagious joy to lift our spirits & warm our hearts on Sunday, December 15 at 7 PM – in stunning original arrangements of Christmas favorites as well as some of their celebrated American Song Book standards.
This concert is the perfect Christmas gift for all ages – for friends and family – for those who remember the close harmony groups of the twentieth century – and young people who will love the energy and youthful brilliance of this dazzling vocal quintet.
AND – as ARCA’s gift to the community – following their Lincoln Hall concert, on Monday, December 16, ARCA’s Educational ArtReach program will bring Highline Vocal Jazz into the Allegheny-Clarion Valley Schools for workshops and assembles to educate, dazzle, and inspire students in grades K to 12 – and in an after school masterclass with the junior and senior high school choruses who will preform for the quintet. Thanks to A-C Valley superintendent David McDeavitt and school principals. as well as the dedicated A-C Valley music teachers for facilitating this outreach – general music and band director, Karen Hetrick, and choral conductor Jennifer Powell Lowrey, who will be preparing the Jr/Sr high choral singers.
Their Lincoln Hall Christmas concert will sell-out, so be sure to buy or reserve early.
Concert Tickets: Adults $30, Members $25, Students $5. Call to reserve: 724-659-3153 to pay by cash or check at the door, or buy online here.
Founded in December 2017 – as a quintet comprised of five friendly friends who really like singing, Highline Vocal Jazz has been creating music videos for original, tight 5-part arrangements ever since. Performing all across the country at festivals, concert series, and jazz clubs, they are based in New York City.
Recently in the recording studio for their new Christmas album, the quintet has released videos with their original arrangements of Deck the Halls, Cool Yule, Infant Holy/Auld Lang Syne and the ecstatically joyous and uplifting This Christmas.
The group is committed to continuing the vocal jazz tradition established by groups like The Manhattan Transfer, New York Voices, The Real Group, and Take 6, as well as honoring the many influential instrumentalists that have pioneered jazz language.
The recent video of Highline Vocal Jazz’s absolutely gorgeous and musically exquisite performance of their arrangement of Skylark is a nod to these groups that have influenced them.
Highline Vocal Jazz believes in modernizing and reshaping the art form that their predecessors have championed and making it fun and accessible for all audiences.
And FUN IT IS – with their brilliant artistry and crystalline voices in original arrangements with delightfully contagious rhythmic invention, scatting and tasty jazz embellishments, including Deck the Halls!
At the center of Highline Vocal Jazz’s philosophy is education of the next generation of singers through workshops and masterclasses in jazz singing and arranging.
ARCA’s Educational ArtReach Program is honored to be bringing Highline Vocal Jazz to do workshops and assemblies and a masterclass for students in the A-C Valley Schools – from which over the years numerous students have gone on to study and perform music in college – as well as, wonderful singers who have gone on to work professionally in music.
Highline Vocal Jazz singers think, most of all, that singing and vocal music should be fun! They want their audiences to experience joy from their music!
ARCA’s audience – AND the A-C Valley students – will definitely be ready for Christmas with their spirits soaring – as well as being touched by the true meaning of Christmas in the heartfelt vocalism of Infant Holy.
About the Singers
Alyssa Venora, their sweet, swingin’ soprano, is responsible for most of those Very High Notes ™ you hear in Highline! Alyssa is also an educator, choral singer and conductor, and much of her musical work is rooted in empowering young artists to find community through musicianship and trust that their creativity is innately human and worth celebrating.
Alyssa will take any chance she can get to go on a nature walk (which isn’t the easiest in NYC!), cook something yummy, or cuddle with her and Jared’s kitten, Hazel. Prized possessions include her massive library of children’s books and her lemonade recipe.
Emily Gaggiano‘s dulcet tones supply the alto in their quintet! Though raised in Northeast Philadelphia (go Eagles!), she’s a graduate of Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, with a degree in Music Theory and Composition. Among Emily’s many passions are Zumba, small birds, zebras, Freddie Mercury, and her smushy orange kitten, Fred.
Mark Farnum is their resident tenor, and he can sing really high. He’s also a computer whiz, editing all their audio and video content at his ninja workstation. Mark works as a software engineer during the day, and regularly uses words that the other four of them definitely don’t understand. Mark holds the title for smartest in the group
Our butter voiced baritone, Nick Gordon, is an aspiring actor/singer in the NYC area. Originally from Ohio, he moved to the big city to pursue a masters degree in musical theater and vocal pedagogy at New York University in 2015. Out of all of the many roles he’s had, none are more important than his role as husband to his wife, Gabriella, and father to his little boy, Isaiah.
When he’s not being a regular dad, he likes to play Spikeball and smoke meats in his backyard. Nick is also an avid barbershop quartet singer and sings tenor in the 2019 international 5th place quartet, MIDTOWN.
Jared Graveley is Highline’s Bass and rhythm section (unless we’re jamming with our instrumentalist friends). When he’s not walking basslines that are probably a little too complicated, he’s singing classically with professional choral ensembles, conducting, and arranging. On a day off, you’d probably find Jared playing chess in the park, cooking a tasty meal, or spending time with his and Alyssa’s beautiful Siberian cat, Hazel. If you ask, Jared will almost always be down for a board game or a barbershop tag (within reason).
ARRIVE EARLY & Shop at the RBG!
Plan to Make a Day of it in beautiful Foxburg and get some Christmas Shopping done at the Red Brick Gallery before the concert!
Looking for one-of-a-kind gifts for those special people on your list? Be sure to visit The Red Brick Gallery and Gift Shop Annual Holiday Art Show & Exhibit – and shop locally for Christmas ornaments and special holiday gifts including hand-woven shawls, gorgeous pottery, and one of a kind gem-stone necklaces, bracelets and rings made by three jewelry artists!
Glittering with Christmas decorations, The Red Brick Gallery and Gift Shop Annual Holiday Art Show & Exhibit will be open before the Highline Vocal Jazz Christmas concert on Sunday, December 15 from noon to 5 PM for your last minute Christmas shopping – to find a gift created by the talented Cooperative Artists from the region.
The Red Brick Gallery & Gift Shop’s Annual Holiday Art Show & Exhibit spans six weekends from Friday, November 15 to Sunday, December 22, featuring one-of -a-kind, high quality, original artisan-made gifts created by Red Brick Gallery Cooperative Member Artists: Karin Arnds, Taylor Banner, Chris Bauer, Mark DeWalt, Angela Taylor Hardwick, Ann Harting, Kathy Hogg, Dennis Keyes, Jason Floyd Lewis, Karen Mortland, Nissa Rappoport, Linda Thompson and Cathy & Jack Trzeciak.
Make It a Foxburg Holiday Outing!
Plan to arrive early before the concert, to do a wine tasting in the beautifully remodeled and elegant Foxburg Wine Cellars and continue your last minute holiday SHOPPING with holiday gifts of specialty wines and after-dinner dessert wines as well as unique wine-related stocking stuffers for those wine lovers on your list – or for yourself and your Christmas feasts! And don’t forget their deliciously robust River Queen for those port lovers on your list!
Everyone loves chocolate at Christmas – and you can find boxes of hand-made organic chocolates and their famous chocolate caramels to put under the tree at Divani Chocolatier and Barrista
AND to take off the chill, enjoy gourmet chocolate or specialty coffee to fortify your spirits.
Before the concert, arrive early and enjoy a brisk walk along the Allegheny River trail, beautiful any time of the year.
Plan to have dinner before the concert – and be sure to make a reservation to guarantee you get a table – at the Allegheny Grille in their dining room overlooking the Allegheny River.
Or for more casual fare, at Foxburg Pizza with salads, sandwiches and pizza.
Plan to enjoy a wonderful pre-Christmas weekend of shopping and enjoying the peace of the valley before the concert of Highline Vocal Jazz – extending your stay on Saturday or Sunday night at the newly renovated, romantic Foxburg Inn, where every room has a view of the river!
If you reserve early, you can get the room with the fireplace!
