Celebrating the Holidays

Mason Nguyen is a senior at Hazen High School and has been studying viola at the Key to Change Studio since the 7th grade. He is the first-place winner of the All-Regional Solo & Ensemble Contest, which advanced him to the state finals, as well as the Jessie Montgomery Senior Division at the annual Key to Change Solo String Festival. Mason has performed with both the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra and the Northwest Symphony Orchestra. Most recently, he attended the Summer String Academy at the University of Oregon, where he studied with Professor Arnaud Ghillebaert.

Outside of music, Mason enjoys cooking, exploring new restaurants, and playing rhythm games. He is currently a member of the Young Artist Academy at Key to Change, where he studies with Dr. Quinton Morris and Mara Gearman, assistant principal violist of the Seattle Symphony. Mason plans to pursue viola performance or composition at a music school or university.

The Federal Way Chorale

Under the musical direction of Thomas Almli, the Federal Way Chorale has been performing since 1993. Each season, the Chorale strives for musical excellence and performs for diverse audiences with a wide variety of musical pieces and styles. The group distinguishes itself with dynamic performances and professional presentation of demanding choral literature from the masters to the light music of today.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) is possibly the most popular Russian composer of all time. His extensive body of work includes The Nutcracker and Swan Lake ballets, Symphony No. 6, “Pathétique,” and the 1812 Overture. Although he showed interest and talent as a musician from a young age, Tchaikovsky was trained for a career in civil service and was in his 20s when he began studying music professionally. Tchaikovsky was internationally famous during his lifetime and in 1887, he finally overcame his fear of conducting and became a sought-after conductor throughout the world.  More

Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist widely regarded as one of the leading figures of the Romantic era and a key contributor to the development of a distinct Norwegian national style in music. Drawing inspiration from Norwegian folk melodies and landscapes, his works, including the famous Piano Concerto in A minor and the incidental music for Henrik Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt (including the celebrated “In the Hall of the Mountain King”), combine lyrical beauty, harmonic richness, and a deep sense of national identity. More

Morton Gould, (1913-1996) was American composer, conductor, and pianist noted for his synthesis of popular idioms with traditional forms of composition and orchestration. He arranged and conducted a series of radio programs devoted to the more popular classical literature, and thereafter he composed and conducted for films, television, the theatre, and recordings. His orchestral works often utilize American themes. More

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) was a German composer and multi-instrumentalist who became one of the most prolific and influential musicians of the Baroque era. Born in Magdeburg, Germany and largely self-taught, Telemann held prominent musical positions in Leipzig, Eisenach, and Hamburg, where he directed music for churches and civic events while composing an enormous body of work—over 3,000 compositions, including orchestral suites, concertos, chamber music, operas, and sacred cantatas. Renowned for his melodic inventiveness, stylistic versatility, and ability to blend French, Italian, and German traditions, Telemann played a crucial role in shaping the transition between the late Baroque and early Classical styles. More

Johann Strauss, I (1732-1809) and Johann Strauss, II (1825-1899) were Austrian composers who became central figures in the development and popularization of the Viennese waltz. Johann Strauss I, often called the “father of the waltz,” rose from humble beginnings in Vienna to international fame through his lively dance music, including the enduring Radetzky March. His son, Johann Strauss II—dubbed the “Waltz King”—built upon and surpassed his father’s legacy, elevating the waltz to new artistic heights with masterpieces such as The Blue Danube and Tales from the Vienna Woods. the joy, sophistication, and charm of 19^th century Vienna, leaving an indelible mark on the history of dance and orchestral music. More

Although mainly known for his Messiah and Water Music, George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) was a prolific composer, writing more than 40 operas, 25 oratorios, dozens of concertos and hundreds of other works. A contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach (although the two composers never met) Handel was much admired by successive generations of composers. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who reorchestrated Messiah in 1789, said of Handel: “When he chooses, he strikes like a thunderbolt.” Ludwig van Beethoven carried his admiration of Handel to his deathbed, saying “To Handel alone, I bend a knee.” More

Jessica French is a Seattle-based composer specializing in choral music, both sacred and secular. Her compositional style has been described as having “lyrical, sweeping lines…deeply impassioned…atmospheric…shimmering harmonies.”

Jessica received a Bachelor of Music degree in Organ Performance from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and a Master of Music degree in Organ Performance from Yale University. After moving to the Seattle area, Jessica refocused her musical efforts toward composition, and has composed and arranged nearly thirty choral works.

Her works have been commissioned and performed by various ensembles including the BBC Singers, the St. Olaf Cantorei and Orchestra; the St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys (NYC), the Choir of Trinity Church Wall Street (NYC), Seattle Pro Musica, Northwest Boychoir, Seattle Girls Choir, and Choral Arts Northwest.  Jessica’s awards include winning the 2023 American Prize for the Shorter Choral Works Division, Honorable Mention in the 2023 ACDA Focus Price, being a finalist for the American Prize in multiple years, the ASCAP Plus Award, and the 2020 AGO/ECS Publishing Award in Choral Composition. More