By Pamela Espeland |  December 7, 2018: https://www.minnpost.com/artscape/2018/12/arts-accessibility-nonprofit-to-close-in-2019-vocalessences-welcome-christmas-2018/

The picks

Friday through Sunday: VocalEssence: Welcome Christmas 2018. For many Minnesotans, VocalEssence’s annual holiday concert is a beloved tradition. But there’s never been a Welcome Christmas concert like this. Along with a world premiere by composer Nico Muhly – Philip Glass’ former assistant, now one of the most sought-after composers of his generation – the program also features Christmas premieres from the past several years and two new carols (more world premieres!) by Minnesotan Shruthi Rajasekar and former ¡Cantaré! composer-in-residence Rodrigo Cadet. 7:30 Friday at Roseville Lutheran Church; 4 p.m Saturday and Sunday at VocalEssence’s home base, Plymouth Congregational Church. FMI and tickets ($20-40).

Friday and Saturday at Midtown Global Market: No Coast Craft-O-Rama. It’s the 19th year for this reliably eclectic, modern, urban and indie-style arts-and-crafts show. Go to see what local artists and crafters are up to. Shop for gifts you won’t find anywhere else – everything from T-shirts to pet toys, grow-your-own mushrooms kits, ceramics, body lotions, prints and paper goods. Meet the makers. Eat well at Hot Indian, Moroccan Flavors, Café Finspång or any of the many other food stops; they don’t call it Midtown Global Market for nothing. 3-8 p.m. Friday, 9-5 p.m. Saturday. FMI. Free. View updates on Facebook and Instagram.

Sunday at Hamline’s Sundin Music Hall: Chamber Music Society of Minnesota Annual Family Concert. K-12 students get in free, so bring the kids to this late-afternoon show. The music will be fun, the performers top-notch, the hall warm and intimate. This year’s holiday program includes two works by Bruce Adolphe, “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” for clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano and narrator, and “Farmony for String Quartet and Farm Animals with a carrot” (and audience participation). Sang Yoon Kim, the new principal clarinet of the SPCO, will be featured in selections from Mozart’s radiant Clarinet Quintet in A major. Other participating artists include Maria Jette, Ariana Kim and CMSM founder and Artistic Director Young-Nam Kim. 4 p.m. FMI and tickets($25/20/15); 651-450-0527.

Sunday at the Cedar: Lisa Gutkin: The Music and Musicians of “Indecent.” The Guthrie’s production of Paula Vogel’s play “Indecent” was a highlight of 2018. Music wove through the heartbreaking story of a Jewish playwright’s controversial Broadway debut and a Jewish acting troupe caught up in the Holocaust. Grammy winner Gutkin, Klezmatics member and co-composer of the “Indecent” score, will be joined by Pat O’Keefe (winds) and Spencer Chandler (accordion, guitar, banjo) for an evening of Klezmer dance tunes, original songs, improvisations and selections from the play. Doors at 7 p.m., show at 7:30. FMI and tickets ($20 advance, $22 day of show). 

Monday at Icehouse: JT’s Jazz Implosion Featuring Chris Bates’ Red 5. After 20 years of evolution, excellence and surprises, drummer JT Bates’ long-running, cutting-edge modern-jazz series is coming to an end. For some inexplicable reason, Bates no longer wants to commit every Monday night of his life to being at Icehouse (and before then, the Clown Lounge in the basement of the Turf Club), managing the music and staying up super late. For the second-to-last Jazz Implosion event (the final one is next Monday, Dec. 17), he’ll bring in the hot ensemble led by his brother, bassist Chris Bates, in which he plays the drums. 9:30 p.m. FMI. $10 at the door.