In 2011, when I was the Artist in Residence for the Missouri Mid-South Conference of the UCC, I had an idea. More like a vision. I call it Follow That Star, a Jazz Nativityand I explained it to the Conference Minister as:
A contemporary re-imaging the Christmas story through jazz . . . a 90-minute holiday concert featuring the Oîkos Ensemble . . . presented as a gift from the Conference . . . with a free-will offering to benefit local charities.
I concluded with: This will hopefully become an annual tradition. We’ll keep it simple the first year – just music and stories. Next year we can add dance, drama, media, etc.
Actually, we didn’t keep it simple that first year. We featured one of the country’s finest jazz vocalist, Denise Thimes, local TV anchor, Gina Kurre as our host narrator, and five wonderful actors to portray contemporary interpretations of the prophet Isaiah, the angel Gabriel, the innkeepers wife, the reluctant shepherd and the fifth Magi. Our two performances were a huge success.
When I created the first program my hope was that it would become an annual tradition, even though I was still living in Cleveland and commuting to St. Louis in my role as Artist in Residence. Little did I realize it would actually happen, beyond my wildest dreams. Since 2011, there have been 19 concerts in eight different churches in St. Louis, Kansas City, Belleville, IL and Cleveland, OH. Jazz Noelhas been performed for more than 4,000 people raising nearly $10,000 for community service organizations.
It’s been challenging to raise the funds and it has taken countless hours behind the scenes to produce and promote each year’s concerts. Not to mention envisioning new ways to reimagine the story, develop new artistic approaches, and write a new script every year. Jazz Nativity is now Jazz Noel and the ninth annual performances are just a month away.
This year the Oîkos Ensemblewillbe blending contemporary jazz arrangements, with early music madrigals by the Terra Nova Singers. The story will be told byLogos, an interpretive readers theatre quartet. Our theme is “A Christmas Journey” and will focus on Mary and Joseph’s perilous journey to gain insight into the complexities of contemporary journeys undertaken by immigrants and refugees, as well as understanding our own life journey in search of home.
So, if you’re in the area I invite you to join us as we creatively reimagine the Christmas story for today. And, move a year closer to our tenth anniversary. I wonder what we’ll be doing next year?
Saturday, December 14 at 3:00 pm at Parkway United Church of Christ (2841 N. Ballas Road, St. Louis 63131)
Sunday, December 15 at 3:00 pm at First Congregational Church, UCC (10 W. Lockwood Ave., Webster Groves 63119)