Legends of Christmas – SCS Twelfth Night Concert

On Thursday January 6, 2022 at 5 PM, the Santa Cruz Singers presented  a free special event based on the work by Virginia Benderly. Gini was a member of the original Santa Cruz Singers, a talented musician, painter, writer, founding member of SCFPA and our primary benefactor in building the Opera House. Legends of Christmas was first performed in Carefree, Arizona, sometime in the eighties.

After Gini died in 2009, her original works were bequeathed to the Foundation. I came across her hand-written manuscript during the summer of 2020 – at the peak of the pandemic. I decided to have her score reworked and digitized for the SCS so that we could pay homage to a truly remarkable human being and a dear friend. Of course Joseph and Mary sang their solos in the work, but Gini included some songs for the shepherds’ kids, a high priest, an aging temple custodian and a whole menagerie of animals.

I trust you will agree that Legends is an inspiration!

Christina Wilhelm, Director Santa Cruz Singers

Click here to view a clip from the performance.