BRATTLEBORO- The Western Wind, an acclaimed six-voice a cappella ensemble based in New York City, launches its annual Winter Wonderland Weekend with a concert for the general public. This year’s performance is set for 8 pm on Friday, February 16, in the Main Hall at All Souls Church. The program features excerpts from their “Shakespeare in Love” and “Musical Shabbat” programs. The Shakespeare program includes original songs from the plays, settings of play lyrics by Romantic era composers, and recent settings by New York-based composers.

Since 1969, this internationally acclaimed vocal sextet has devoted itself to the special beauty and variety of a cappella music. The ensemble’s repertoire reveals its diverse background: from Renaissance motets to ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll, from medieval carols to Duke Ellington, from complex works by avant-garde composers to the simplest folk melodies. In addition to a demanding performance schedule, the group runs a highly acclaimed arts-in-education program for the New York public school system and presents an annual series of singing workshops in New York as well as in Northampton, MA, Brattleboro, and Woodstock. They have also produced a series of holiday programs broadcast over National Public Radio and Public Radio International, and to date have released 19 recordings.

Members of the group are Michele Kennedy, soprano; Linda Lee Jones, soprano; Todd Frizzell, tenor; Elliot Z. Levine, baritone; David Vanderwal, tenor; and William Zukof, countertenor. Their various backgrounds include extensive choral and solo singing with renowned ensembles large and small; each also has some combination of other experience and skills, among them choral conducting, composition and music arranging, instrumental performance, and serving in a range of production roles for opera and musical theater.

Tickets to the Western Wind concert are $10 at the door, $8 for students/seniors, and include a dessert reception.

All Souls Church, which is handicap accessible, is located at 29 South Street in West Brattleboro, just across the road from the West Brattleboro fire station and village green. For further information about All Souls Church call (802) 254-9377. For information about The Western Wind visit www.westernwind.org.