PLATTSBURGH — The First Presbyterian Church of Plattsburgh hosts an impromptu “Interfaith Carol Sing with Adrian Carr” at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9.
The event is designed to get folks into the holiday spirit by singing favorite carols.
“With the shrinking congregations, all of the churches are having this problem that there’s just less and less singers,” Carr, music director, said.
“The choir asked, ‘Well, are we going to do a concert this year?’ Because it was traditional that the Presbyterian Church oftentimes did a choral concert. I said we just don’t have enough singers all the time with people on vacation and everything. So, I said why don’t we try to do something that includes the community and a larger thing?
“I thought let’s do a Carol Sing this year and try to include the community and different churches. So, I invited different churches to participate and sent emails. That’s how it all came about. I just think we need to talk to each other a little bit more.”
Participants include members of the Peru Community Church, Trinity Episcopal Church, and Plattsburgh United Methodist Church.
“That’s the beautiful thing, too, everybody can suggest (carols),” Carr said.
“I don’t have a preset program. We’re going to create it as we go. What people want to sing, I’m going to play for it. I’ll be at the piano, and I’ll be playing. We are just going to do what we like.
“Somebody asked me if it’s free, I said of course it’s free. The talent is coming from everybody. Then, we’re Zooming it for people who can’t get to the church.
“That’s the other beautiful thing, there’s no rehearsal. That’s what I love about it, too. I like the idea, come as you are.”
Next year, Carr wishes to expand the program and do something bigger like “The Messiah.”
“The other thing I want to do is next year, I want to expand it to different faiths,” he said.
“It started out as one thing, but I can see it has potential to grow. I would love to include different faiths as well.”