For the second year of “Soft Sounds of Christmas” at the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center, director Barbara Lang has added children to the list of performers.

“It’s neat to hear younger voices sing,” she said.

The two children slated to sing during performances this weekend are Dane Brownlow and Charley Fleek.

“Soft Sounds of Christmas” offers two parts. The first has cool jazz numbers, while the second shares British and American carols about the birth of Jesus Christ. It all began two years ago when Lang and fellow keyboardist Lora Virgil were at a theater meeting.

“We had the same idea at the same time,” Virgil said.

Lang said the performance reminds people of the olden days, much like an episode of the “Lawrence Welk” show. Instead of bubbles, they have snowflakes.

“Our goal is to recapture days gone by,” she said.

It isn’t often that two keyboardists get to perform together on stage. That’s the case as the band has Lang and Virgil working together, along with Neil Lang on electric guitar and Todd Peterson on drums.

The concert has a professional sound man, Pete Jacobsen, and Virgil said it really makes a different in quality.

Singers are Jenika Boersma, Carrie Boyer, Stephanie Erdman, Jason Howland, Glen and Pat Parsons, Tony Segura and Steve Stoneking.

At the direction of the two keyboardists, Neil Lang designed and built the set, which features actual leafless trees, out-of-the-box Christmas trees and an actual snow machine.

The shows are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets are $18 and can be purchased by calling 1-877-730-3144, online at www.actonbroadway.com, at the box office at 147 N. Broadway in Albert Lea from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday and at the Albert Lea Convention and Visitors Bureau.

 

Tickets, please

What: “Soft Sounds of Christmas”

Where: Marion Ross Performing Arts Center

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday

How much: $18