STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Caritas Chorale will sing carols composed and arranged by women at its Holiday Concert Saturday and Sunday.

The free concerts will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10. Both concerts will be held at St. Thomas Episcopal Church at 201 Sun Valley Road in Ketchum.

The concerts will be directed by R. L. Rowsey and Joel Bejot, the music director of St. Thomas Episcopal Church. The Caritas Chorale will perform selections from the just-published anthology “Carols of Our Time,” which was compiled and edited by composer Sarah MacDonald and Timothy Rogers.

The volume encompasses appealing arrangements of well-known carols, such as “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear,” “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” along with some original pieces.

Old familiar carols are arranged in a variety of styles and moods, using much imagination and technically sophisticated use of melody, harmony, rhythm and texture, according to the publisher’s website.

“Overall, the musical content is convincing and functional and, above all, festive,” it concludes.

Selections like “Silent Night” have long been performed, noted choir member Richard Stahl. But the familiar carol takes on an entirely different persona as it appears in “Carols of Our Time.” And this year's Chorale is the biggest it has been since the pandemic since many members from the past have joined in again.

Saturday’s concert will be completely focused on the selections from “Carols of Our Time.” But Sunday’s will include the choir’s traditional sing-along. Caritas will sing selections from the anthology and invite the audience to sing familiar carols afterwards.

Donations at Sunday’s sing-along concert will benefit The Hunger Coalition.