The American Music Research Center (AMRC) George Lynn Memorial Award celebrates the legacy of former College of Music choral conductor George Lynn, allowing CU students to dive into Lynn’s compositional work and pull out pieces that really speak to them. Nathan George, a sophomore music education major, was inspired by the holiday spirit.
“I looked through a lot of the AMRC archives and their catalog on George Lynn and I noticed there were a lot of holiday arrangements. I love this time of year, so that really stood out to me,” George said.
Over the last few months, George pulled pieces out of the archives that he wanted to use, transcribed them, and recruited musicians to play in a concert dubbed Christmastime with George Lynn. “All of the music in the program, it’s all George Lynn’s arrangements and original pieces,” George said. “We have an eight voice choir, then we also have a string quartet, a brass ensemble, two woodwind ensembles, and even a children’s choir that will be there too.”
George wanted the program to be interactive with the audience, as well as to create an intimate, cheerful atmosphere. He was inspired by the CU Holiday Fest to create an experience with vocalists and musicians of all kinds working together. He’s especially excited for the last piece in the program— an arrangement of Silent Night where the audience is invited to sing along.
“I’m really excited to have a lot of the faculty and staff and my friends and family come to see the performance,” he said. “I know some of the faculty studied under George Lynn, so they’re coming to see the concert.”
“I hope that in the end it’s just a fun and blessed evening for everyone and people can be there and escape the world a little bit. I think if we have fun up there, the audience will have fun too. I’m excited!”
Christmastime with George Lynn will be on Friday, December 9 at 7:00pm at Legacy Church, 270 76th St, in Boulder. A live stream will be available at https://youtu.be/MwaCM0I7B7A