The Southwest Indiana Cantata Choir (SWICC) will perform the cantata The Ballad of
Bethlehem, A Timeless Story of God’s Love by Pepper Choplin with an orchestra and live Nativity
scene in the Washington High School auditorium in Washington, IN on Sunday, December 7 at
4:00 pm.  Composer Choplin states, “And every year, we all want to find a fresh way to make
the story of Christ’s birth come alive for our congregations and communities. For centuries, a
ballad has been a musical way to tell a story. Storytelling through music is a big part of what we
do as church musicians.”
Even though the lyrics will be sung in English, the narration will be spoken in English,
Creole, and Spanish to make the performance accessible to many members of our community.
The twenty-two member orchestra is composed of professional musicians and college students
from southern Indiana. The traditional story of the birth of Christ will be told through music,
actors, narration, and video.
Director Joyce Kim-Rohrer is an adjunct music professor at Vincennes University. She is
pleased to have many current VU students, faculty, and alumni in the choir and orchestra.
The choir would like to thank the community for their support to provide a free
performance of this inspiring production. The local performance is made possible by donations
from businesses and individuals as well as support from area churches. The Southwest Indiana
Cantata Choir represents seventeen different churches in seven counties. A free will offering
will be collected, and all donations will be greatly appreciated.  Proceeds from a raffle for a
handmade quilt given away at the performance will benefit SWICC. Please plan to celebrate
Christmas with this heart-warming presentation of the Christmas story.