Two highly successful musical artists, born and raised in Prince George, are coming home to share the holiday season and their talents during a special Christmas concert at Vanier Hall.
Headlining the At Home for the Holidays concert on Dec. 18 will be singer and songwriter Veera Khare-Asher and the conductor will be Broek Bosma, who now lives in Toronto.
Khare, who now lives in Los Angeles, said what's truly exciting is that the concert will feature traditional community performers like the Prince George Symphony Orchestra, the Cantata Singers and the Bel Canto Choirs.
"When I did my debut with the symphony orchestra a few years ago, Broek was the conductor, so this is very special for me," said Khare-Asher
She noted many of her relatives and life-long friends from throughout the Prince George region will attend the concert that offers "lots of familiar sing-a-long Christmas songs" as well as several solos by herself.
"We'll do selections from Handel's Messiah, like Rejoice, and some of my originals from Holidays Around the World which debuted at Carnegie Hall."
Bosma, former director of the Prince George Conservatory of Music, made headlines in 2001 when, as a 26-year-old, he was one of only three conductors from around the world selected to study for a year in Switzerland.
In 2006 he left Prince George to work with the symphony orchestra in London, Ont.
The emcee and narrator of the concert will be Mayor Dan Rogers who be responsible for weaving the magic thread throughout the evening to bring the Christmas story to fruition.
One more unique thing about the concert is that Khare-Asher, a 1987 graduate of College Heights secondary school, will be wearing her red wedding gown from India.
"I didn't really have a new gown, so I thought why not wear this," said the daughter of Prince George Dr. Umesh and Kanak Khare, who has been married for about four years.
The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, available at Studio 2880 or online at www.pgso.com are $29 for adults, $25 for seniors and $15 for those under 25 years.
