Offering fresh takes on holiday favorites, the Wild Rose Chorale will be performing a single a cappella concert at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15 at Grace Lutheran Church at 1120 Walker St., Port Townsend. With a gamut of tunes from sacred and secular charts, including lush, slow songs as well as up-tempo numbers, the group’s signature twists on the familiar should definitely get audiences smiling. “My bass part goes ‘doom doom bah do bah dot,’” says member Doug Rodgers. “Who could guess that’s the intro to ‘Here Comes Santa Claus?’”

 “Some of my favorite songs this season,” says director Leslie Lewis, “include Kirby Shaw’s Zydeco-inspired arrangement of ‘Here Comes Santa Claus,’ the beautiful ‘Winter’s Heart’ by Mark Hayes, and an Audrey Snyder arrangement of ‘There’s Still My Joy,’ as sung by the Indigo Girls.”

Like Lewis, alto Patricia Nerison is fond of ‘Winter’s Heart,’ “because it reminds us that the cold and dark of winter is a time for reset and renewal, a time when plants set buds on their bare twigs to prepare for new growth in spring.” 

Alto JES Schumacher prefers the jazzier tunes in the group’s repertoire, such as “Let It Snow,” but she adds, “We also have a few poignant and moving songs for the season, and as is becoming our tradition, we have included a tune from the hit a cappella group Pentatonix.” Overall the concert program of Christmas songs – which includes a Hanukkah number -- is upbeat and heartfelt, Nerison adds, even if sadness and longing are expressed. “The songs themselves bring light to the darkest season of the year. They remind us that the heart of any celebration is what we can share and give to each other – friends and strangers alike.”

A cappella singing is sometimes referred to as “singing without a net,” since the only instruments are the voices themselves – and maybe the occasional body percussion. With no instruments to rely upon except each other, listening to how the music combines to form a whole is as important as learning an individual part. “It’s a joy to sing in any group that makes a beautiful sound, and to be in the midst of that sound and helping to produce it,” said Wild Rose’s newest member, tenor Kris Lott. “In a small group like ours, it’s wonderful to be able both to hear all the individual voices as we sing and to appreciate all the parts as they combine.”

Wild Rose often sings in downtown Port Townsend during the holiday season, including at the recent community tree-lighting ceremony. Lott said he hadn’t given much thought to caroling, instead focusing on concert preparation. “But when we were out there singing, I loved seeing all the smiles on people’s faces. That really made my day.”

Nerison applauds the leadership of Lewis, who always challenges them to do their best. “She brings the whole of her delight and her musical skills to us every single time we are together.”

Plus, the group loves singing together. “Rehearsing and singing with the members of Wild Rose always lifts my heart,” Nerison said. “No matter how I feel when 7 p.m. Tuesday rolls around for rehearsal, I feel uplifted by the mutual care, respect and camaraderie of the members – not to mention the energy-giving music we make together!”

Lewis, in turn, is appreciative of the dedication of all the members of the ensemble, and applauds how hard they work together, including this year’s student interns, Maddy Chenruk-Geelan and Devon Helman, to create something meaningful.

The Wild Rose Chorale will present one show only. Masks are encouraged in the venue.

For more information about the upcoming concert or the Wild Rose Chorale, visit wildrosechorale.org, call 360-643-3345.