Tickets Now On-Line for Christmas Concert in Calimesa

Internet ticket sales for the annual Christmas concert sponsored by Calimesa Community Concerts are actively under way this week. The Gary Bonner Singers and Orchestra will be featured in three concerts on Dec. 18 and 19 at the Calimesa Seventh-day Adventist Church. The concert, titled “Bethlehem Skies,” is a return engagement for the musicians. Dr. Bob Soderblom, founding director of the Calimesa concerts, notes the Bonner groups have previously made several sold-out appearances in Calimesa. The concert series is currently in its 30th season. Its annual Christmas concert is known as the Candlelight Festival of Music and Lights. As before, this year’s concert will be directed by Dr. Gary Bonner, internationally recognized as a musician and a leader in advancing Christian choral music performance. He was the founding dean of the schools of music first at Azusa Pacific University and later at California Baptist University, where he was honored as the university’s outstanding professor. He retired from CBU in 2012. Bonner launched the Gary Bonner Singers in 1995. Acclaimed for their musical versatility, sparkling performance, and “warm, vibrant choral tone,” they have completed 21 recordings. The 60-voice ensemble’s most recent recording, Legacy Christmas in Concert, is the live recording of their 2013 Christmas concert. A full orchestra will accompany the singers in all three Calimesa performances. This year’s Calimesa concerts are at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec.18, and on Dec. 19 at 4 and 6 p.m. Tickets are $15, $10, $8, and $5. Soderblom says the tickets can be ordered online from iTickets.com or by phone at (800) 965-9324; popular credit cards are accepted. No tickets will be sold at the door, and pre-ordered tickets are nonrefundable. All three concerts are at the Calimesa Seventh-day Adventist Church, 391 Myrtlewood Dr. (4th and Myrtlewood) in Calimesa. The church is chosen to host the community concert each Christmas partly because of its long tradition of beautiful lighting and decoration to honor the religious holiday, Soderblom explains. “Early ticket orders have the best choice of seating for all three concerts,” he adds. A dedicated telephone line provides recorded information and directions for the concert at (909) 795-4960.