The Susquehanna Chorale will present its 40th anniversary Candlelight Christmas concert series on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Dec. 17, 18, and 19. Performances of "Legacy: A Candlelight Christmas" will take place on Dec. 17 at the High Center, Messiah University, 1 College Ave., Grantham, at 8 p.m.; Dec. 18 at Elizabethtown Church of the Brethren, 777 S. Mount Joy St., Elizabethtown, at 8 p.m.; and Dec. 19 at Market Square Presbyterian Church, 20 S. Second St., Harrisburg, at 4 p.m.

The chorale is an adult chamber ensemble of 40 auditioned singers, founded in 1981 by artistic director and conductor Linda L. Tedford.

"The Susquehanna Chorale's Candlelight Christmas concerts are eagerly anticipated by audience members," Tedford said. "This year's program brings back the traditions of glorious music, audience sing-alongs of familiar carols, and closing moments surrounded by candlelight and the quiet peace of 'Silent Night,' all of which were absent from our lives last year."

The chorale will perform Gustav Holst's "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence," Egil Hovland's "The Glory of the Father," Matthew Culloton's "In Dulci Jubilo," Mack Wilberg's "Christmas Is Coming," and Gordon Langford's "Jingle Bells," arranged for The King's Singers.

This year's concerts will also feature a new work by Dan Forrest. Commissioned for the chorale's 40th anniversary, the piece is a setting of a poem by Leslie Leyland Fields, "Let the Stable Still Astonish." It joins three other works by Forrest on the program - "See Amid the Winter's Snow," "The First Noel," and "Good Christian Men, Rejoice!"

A pre-concert prelude will be presented 15 minutes prior to each performance. Audience members are also invited to a reception following each of the Christmas concerts.

Entry to the events will not be permitted without a proper face covering.

The Susquehanna Chorale will continue to livestream concerts to reach listeners who are unable to attend in person.

Tickets are available by visiting http://www.susquehannachorale.org or by calling the Messiah University Box Office, which handles tickets for all the chorale's concert venues, at 717-691-6036. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more.