Season of holiday music

Dan Earl will lead the Santa Rosa Symphonic Chorus this weekend at the Glaser Center.

What captures the Christmas spirit better than a holiday choral concert? At the newly opened Green Music Center, the rafters will reverberate this weekend with two top-notch choral concerts: Renaissance music by the Tallis Scholars, and Handel’s “Messiah,” performed by the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale.

But that’s not the only fresh addition to the Christmas choral-concert scene. To honor the Grinches in the holiday crowd, the Church of the Incarnation in Santa Rosa has launched a new tradition this year: a Blues Christmas service on Dec. 15 that will guarantee that no one has to sing the blues alone.

You missed the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, which always delivers an upbeat, energetic show guaranteed to make people grin. But if you’re still looking to lift your spirits this year with a “fa-la-la” or a “Hallelujah” chorus, here’s a selection of some of Sonoma County’s best concerts featuring voices:

Peter Phillips directs the Tallis Scholars in a concert of Renaissance music, including Christmas pieces, at 8 p.m. Saturday (12/8) at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center in Rohnert Park. England’s “rock stars of Renaissance vocal music” blend a purity of sound with expressive phrasing. Tickets: $20-$70. (866) 955-6040 or gmc.sonoma.edu.

Masaaki Suzuki leads the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale at 3 p.m. Sunday (12/9) in a performance of Handel’s beloved “Messiah” at the Green Music Center. Tickets are $35-$90. (866) 955-6040.

Under the direction of Sarah Saulsbury, the Occidental Community Choir marks the winter season this weekend with “Around This Table,” an eclectic selection of home-cooked favorites ranging from Woody Guthrie to “Hanukkah Gospel.” Concerts will be held at 8 p.m. Saturday (12/8) and 3 p.m. Sunday (12/9) at the Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Court. Tickets are $15 general, $13 seniors, kids 12 and under free. occidentalchoir.org or at the door.

The Santa Rosa Symphonic Chorus led by Dan Earl will present two Christmas concerts this weekend at the Glaser Center in Santa Rosa. The program features a staged version of Giancarlo Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms” and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s “Magnificat.” The concerts will be held at 8 p.m. Saturday (12/8) and 3 p.m. Sunday (12/9), with a preview dress rehearsal at 7:30 Friday (12/7). Concert tickets are $15. Dress rehearsal tickets are $10. santarosasymphonicchorus.com.