Alleluia!

Looking to start the holidays off right? The Bach and Handel Chorale will kick off the beginning of its 31st year as well as the Christmas season with a series of concerts beginning this weekend in Jim Thorpe.

"At the beginning of Advent we get ready for the celebration of Christmas and the birth of Christ, and when we're in the setting we're in at St. Mark's and playing the songs we perform, you really get a sense of the miracle of Christmas," says chorale board President Leta Thompson.

The chorale will begin its performance with songs of Advent, including "Once He Came In Blessing," "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence" and "An Advent Alleluia."

Music for the season of Christmas will include "Carol of the Bells," "For Unto Us a Child is Born" from Messiah, and "Mary, Did You Know?"

The concert will also include an organ solo performance of "Noel" by Maestro Randall D. Perry, chorale founder and conductor.

The chorale will have some fun with its arrangement of "A Musicological Journey Through the 12 Days of Christmas." The piece opens at the very beginning of the earliest style of Western classical music, and then "journeys" through a number of variations based on great composers through the ages, from sixth century Rome to the present.

This year's performances will again include an audience sing-along featuring popular carols of the season, and as always, the chorale will end with its traditional encore: "The Hallelujah Chorus" from Messiah.

"Come for the inspiration," says Thompson.

There will be two concerts on Saturday at St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Race Street in Jim Thorpe. The first is at noon and the second at 3 p.m.

Additional Christmas concerts will be held as follows:

• St. John's Lutheran Church in Ringtown at 3 p.m. Dec. 13.

• Tamaqua Area Community Arts Center at 7 p.m. Dec. 13.

• St. Paul's United Church of Christ Trexlertown at 3 p.m. Dec. 14

Tickets for all concerts can be purchased through the Bach and Handel Chorale's website at www.jsbgfh@ptd.net.

CDs of past performances and the 30th Anniversary Celebration concert are also available on the website.

"We appreciate everyone's support through the years," says Thompson, "and especially our individual patrons and the businesses that donate, and to our restaurant partners."

Over the past few years the chorale has partnered with local restaurants that offer a special discount on the day of the concert just for concertgoers. For more information on that program, visit the chorale's website.

Can't wait? Check out video of the chorale rehearsing for this weekend's concert on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M38LQPilzI.