Joliet’s Rialto Theatre welcomes holiday season with music, tree lighting

Get into the Joliet the holiday spirit by purchasing tickets to “A Very Rialto Christmas: Merry & Bright.”

This annual concert kicks off the Rialto Square Theatre’s “Home for the Holiday” lineup of programming. It will take place at 7 p.m. Nov. 20 at the theater, 102 N. Chicago St., Joliet.

[ Rialto announces Home for the Holidays at Joliet theater. ]

Stacy Sienko, Home for the Holidays event director, said the Cathedral Youth Choir is returning again this year. Sienko, who also is music director at the Cathedral of Saint Raymond Nonnatus in Joliet, said the 24-member choir is working hard on its pieces.

“One of the third-graders is singing a solo all on her own,” Sienko said. “She’s very talented.”

Also performing is the Joliet-based band Crooked Tails and a new adult choir, Tutti Voce Collective. The choir was formed last year under the direction of Paul Laprade, former director of choirs at the University of St. Francis, Sienko said.

The Rialto Christmas concert is one of the first – if not the first – performances for the Tutti Vice Collective, Sienko said.

“So that’s exciting,” Sienko said. “They are going to contribute to our grand finale. I don’t want to give away too many details, but we will be performing a piece that is very well know and probably has not been performed in this capacity with this many singers since pre-COVID.”

BDA Dance Studio from Joliet will perform with one of the musical pieces in the show, too, Sienko said.

“It’s a great and cost-effective way to come celebrate the beginning of the holiday season and see the Rialto if you’ve never seen it.”

—  Stacy Sienko, Home for the Holidays event director

The 70-minute, no-intermission concert begins with a tree-lighting ceremony at 6 p.m. in the Rialto’s rotunda, Sienko said.

“People can come in early and be part of that,” Sienko said. “They can walk around the concourse and check out all the beautiful decorations that the Rialto provides and then come in for the concert.”

Taylor Trimby of the Joliet Area Theater Organ Enthusiasts will perform on the Barton Grande Theatre Pipe Organ before the concert begins, Sienko said.

“It’s a great and cost-effective way to come celebrate the beginning of the holiday season and see the Rialto if you’ve never seen it,” Sienko said.

The concert is also a fundraiser for the Rialto Square Theatre Foundation, “a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the stewardship and preservation of the historic Rialto Theatre,” according to the theater’s website.

And if you’re not feeling the holiday spirit – yet – the sounds of children’s voices filling the theater should do the trick.

Sienko said the current members of the Cathedral Youth Choir have sung under her direction for three years now and the young singers do “such a phenomenal job.”

“They’ve really gained so much confidence and their sound has really grown,” Sienko said. “Their energy and excitement is very contagious. So, I know people will walk away with big smiles on their faces.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “A Very Rialto Christmas: Merry & Bright”

WHEN: 7 p.m. Nov. 20. Tree lighting at 6 p.m.

WHERE: Rialto Square Theatre, 102 N. Chicago St., Joliet

TICKETS: $20 (adult) and $10 (children 12 and younger). Additional fees may apply. Purchase at rialtosquare.com/holidays. For groups of 12 or more, call the box office at 815-726-6600.