Chorus Austin opens its holiday season on Tuesday, December 1, with Handel's Messiah at Hyde Park Church on Speedway, alongside the Austin Symphony Orchestra. In that performance the audience sits and listens. Five days later the same oratorio comes to Mesa Drive, and this time the audience sings.
Chorus Austin announced its December lineup in a BroadwayWorld release dated November 5. Two of its three December concerts are set for churches inside Northwest Hills. Add a holiday jazz afternoon on Balcones Drive and a children's chorus showcase on Village Center Drive, and the neighborhood has four holiday performances over three straight December weekends. The whole season fits between Mesa Drive, Village Center Drive and Balcones Drive.
Mesa Drive gets the version of Messiah you sing
The Sing It Yourself Messiah is on Sunday, December 6, at 6:00 p.m. at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, 8134 Mesa Dr. This is the 36th annual edition, and Chorus Austin calls it one of its most loved holiday traditions. The audience sings with the Symphonic Chorus, accompanied by members of the Austin Symphony Orchestra.
That makes it a different evening from the December 1 performance. On Hyde Park Church's program, the Symphonic Chorus and the orchestra carry the whole oratorio. At St. Matthew's, the chorus's own event page lists the performers as "CA Symphonic Chorus, members of the Austin Symphony and you!"
A few practical details from the event page:
- Bring your own score. The listing asks singers to bring a copy of the score and links to a place to order one. With nearly a month to go, there's time to order a copy and practice a few choruses at home.
- Plan for two hours. The run time is 120 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission. A 6:00 p.m. start puts the last chorus around 8:00 p.m. on a Sunday.
- Enter the raffle. An on-site raffle gives one audience member the chance to conduct the Hallelujah Chorus.
- Parking and transit. Parking is available on site. The nearest listed bus stops are at Mesa/Steck, Steck/Mesa, Mesa/Spicewood Springs and Steck/Spicewood.
Tickets run from $50 at the Supporter level to $30 General and $20 Senior. There are also pay-what-you-can options at $10 and $0, with the $0 tier also open to students. The free tier makes it easy for a teenager who sings in a school choir to come along, and families can make a whole outing of it.
The middle weekend swings toward jazz on Balcones Drive
The second weekend changes genre. On Sunday, December 13, the Women in Jazz Association presents 'Tis The Season to Be Jazzy at Chez Zee Bistro's "The Galley," 5406 Balcones Dr. Doors open at 2:15 p.m., and the show runs from 3:00 to 5:15 p.m.
Admission is $45 and includes a light buffet. The organizers promise soulful holiday classics and smooth ballads. Austin Monthly also lists the concert in its events calendar. It's the only one of the four performances that includes food.
Price it against the choral concerts. A General ticket to either Chorus Austin program costs $30, and the $45 jazz ticket includes the buffet. A couple choosing between a Sunday dinner out and a concert can cover both in one afternoon at Chez Zee.
Village Center Drive hosts two concerts in two days
The last weekend puts two concerts in the same building on back-to-back days. NW Hills United Methodist Church, 7050 Village Center Dr., hosts both.
On Saturday, December 19, at 8:00 p.m., Chorus Austin presents On a Winter's Eve: Gloria, its final concert of 2026. According to BroadwayWorld, the Symphonic Chorus and Chamber Singers combine for Vivaldi's Gloria and other holiday favorites. The chorus describes the rest of the program as well-loved traditional and modern carols. The concert runs 90 minutes with a 15-minute intermission. It's 30 minutes shorter than the sing-along, which keeps a late Saturday start reasonable. Ticket tiers match the Messiah sing-along, from the $50 Supporter level down to the $0 pay-what-you-can and student option. Parking is on site, and the nearest listed bus stop is 3600 North Hills/Village Center.
Less than a day later, on Sunday, December 20, at 4:00 p.m., the National Children's Chorus holds its Winter Showcase in the same church. Tickets start at $35. The chorus says it values "the journey as much as we celebrate the final result." That makes this a showcase of students' progress, a different kind of afternoon from a finished season concert.
Two concerts on Village Center Drive in two days give families with visiting relatives an easy plan for the weekend before the holidays. Adults can go to Gloria on Saturday night, and everyone can come back Sunday afternoon for the children's showcase. Neither requires a drive across town.
The December calendar at a glance
Date | Performance | Venue | Start | Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sun., Dec. 6 | Sing It Yourself Messiah, Chorus Austin | St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, 8134 Mesa Dr. | 6:00 p.m. | $0 to $50 |
Sun., Dec. 13 | 'Tis The Season to Be Jazzy, Women in Jazz Association | Chez Zee Bistro "The Galley," 5406 Balcones Dr. | 3:00 p.m., doors 2:15 | $45 with light buffet |
Sat., Dec. 19 | On a Winter's Eve: Gloria, Chorus Austin | NW Hills United Methodist Church, 7050 Village Center Dr. | 8:00 p.m. | $0 to $50 |
Sun., Dec. 20 | Winter Showcase, National Children's Chorus | NW Hills United Methodist Church, 7050 Village Center Dr. | 4:00 p.m. | From $35 |
Three of the four fall on Sunday, and only Gloria takes a Saturday night. Spaced across the month, they give a household one holiday performance each weekend from December 6 through December 20.
Citywide arts groups, neighborhood rooms
Chorus Austin is a nonprofit community chorus led by Artistic Director and Conductor Ryan Heller, and this is its 62nd season. This December it uses two Northwest Hills halls, one on Mesa Drive and one on Village Center Drive. The Austin Symphony Orchestra also comes to the neighborhood, since its members accompany the Mesa Drive sing-along.
The Northwest Austin Civic Association's December calendar lists committee and board meetings. The music comes from arts groups that serve the whole city and perform in two of the neighborhood's sanctuaries and one bistro. To catch it, follow the chorus, jazz and youth choir calendars.
Ticket links for the Chorus Austin concerts are on the chorus's season events page. For a mid-December break from all the choral music, the jazz afternoon on Balcones Drive is the one to book.
Hosting family in December and want to show them Northwest Hills beyond the concert hall? At Albert Allen, I've spent years mapping this neighborhood street by street, from Mesa Drive to Village Center Drive. Schedule a discovery call, and we'll show you coming-soon homes shared through Compass's private network along with what's on the open market. We'll also plan a December visit around the music and the homes nearby.
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