Scotiabank Singers to host 'Christmas Across the World'

The Scotiabank Singers will help usher in the spirit of cheer and goodwill with its 15th staging of a free Christmas concert and tree lighting ceremony at Emancipation Park on Thursday at 6 p.m.

Dubbed 'Christmas Across the World', this year's concert will see the celebrated Scotiabank Singers delivering delightful renditions of well-loved carols in traditional and contemporary formats.

A highlight of the programme is the performance of a special adaptation of Away in A Manger, as arranged by the Scotiabank Singers' choir director Michael Leslie.

"Our choir is almost 40 voices strong and comprises Scotiabank staff and pensioners who have been rehearsing weekly since the start of the year. It is our pleasure to celebrate this joyful season by sharing the enormous talent which we have at the bank. We invite everyone to come, sing along and enjoy a really refreshing evening," said Michael Jones, senior vice president of human resources at Scotiabank.

In addition to a full programme of beautiful songs, there will also be a dance piece choreographed by Charmaine Mullings of Scotiabank, and a guest performance by Nadje Leslie, violin virtuoso.

The Scotiabank Singers first came together in 1989 to perform as a chorale to mark the bank's 100th anniversary and hosted its first Christmas carol service in 1996.

Since then, the group has performed at events such as the Governor General's Awards, the United Way Awards and the Mayor of Kingston's Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony. In 2006, the Scotiabank Singers staged Jazzing at the Link, a concert to raise funds for the Jamaica Aids Support for Life. In 2007 they produced Bank Notes, their first recorded compilation, which was arranged and produced by noted musician and composer Asley 'Grub' Cooper.