Holiday tunes like "Silver Bells" and "Winter Wonderland," as well as religious hymns, including "Mary, How Could You Have Known?" and "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks" will be featured at a Christmas concert to be presented by the LanChester Chorus on Sunday, Dec. 22, at 3 p.m. at the Christiana Fire Company, 214 S. Bridge St., Christiana.

The chorus, which gets its name from the fact that its members are from both Lancaster and Chester counties, will be led by director Kimberly Kusnersyk. The accompanist will be Christine Smith.

Light refreshments, including cookies and punch, will be served after the concert. There is no admission fee, but a freewill offering will be received.

For the concert, the fire hall's banquet room will be festively decorated by members of the chorus with poinsettias and greens. Members will dress formally for the occasion. "The men wear dark suits and red ties, and the ladies wear black with red scarves," noted Kusnersyk. "It's a mixed choral group - alto, soprano, bass and tenor - and a mixture of ages. They sing very well. Most of them have sung in their church choirs or other choirs. They have a musical background."

In addition to the songs already mentioned, music will include "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Jolly Old St. Nicholas," and "Ding Dong Merrily on High." "We do a mixture of religious and sacred music - familiar songs and some that are not quite as familiar. It's always nice to hear something new," said Kusnersyk. "We will also do a Grinch medley."

According to a history of the chorus, the group has been meeting in Christiana for the past 74 years. The group was founded in 1950 by Martha Jean Moffett and Richard Wright. Wright served as accompanist and business manager for the chorus from 1950 through 2008. In addition to Moffett, the directors over the years have included Sally Breuninger, Jim Zwally, Donald Trostle, Elliott Block, Cliff Behrendt, Earl Pickel and Bill Young.

Over the years, the chorus has presented concerts at local venues, including Longwood Gardens and the Brandywine River Museum. The group has performed several times at the White House during its Christmas tours and at the Kennedy Center. The chorus performed at the Christmas tree-lighting ceremony at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg and at the open house at the governor's mansion.

The chorus has sung the national anthem numerous times for the Philadelphia Phillies and Lancaster Stormers.

In the summer, the group performed evening concerts at the Convention Hall in Cape May, N.J., and for many years it presented Saturday evening concerts at the Music Pier in Ocean City, N.J.

The chorus also sings at local retirement communities and the Christmas concert every December at the Christiana Fire Company. "We do this annually as our Christmas gift to the community," said Joan Esworthy, who has been a member of the chorus for more than 20 years.

Next year, the group will celebrate its 75th anniversary, and it is planning special events. "For the 75th anniversary, previous members will come back and sing, and we will do a program based on some of the older music the chorus did years ago," Kusnersyk explained. "I have programs that date to 1964 of what music they sang. We will go retro and to do a retro program."

She added that the chorus previously performed in the old fire hall in Christiana, which is now where the borough's municipal offices are located. "They had fire engines in the room, and they took them out (for the concert)," she recalled. "That room had the best acoustics."

Kusnersyk was a member of the LanChester Chorus before being named its director about 20 years ago. "I was a choir director for 20 to 25 years, and my mother was before that. It was a natural progression," she said. "I don't have a musical degree; I learned by doing."

The chorus is always in need of additional singers. There are no formal auditions. However, anyone interested in joining the group is asked to email kkusnersyk@yahoo.com for more information.