The Western Wind, America's premier a cappella singing group, will present a concert of music for the holiday season on Thursday, Dec. 6, at 8 p.m. in Berea College's Phelps Stokes Chapel.

The performance is a part of the 2001-02 Stephenson Memorial Concert Series. Admission is free and open to the public.

"A Musical Celebration of Light" will feature the music of Christmas, Chanukah and Soltice. Included in the performance will be Sephardic songs, Medieval carols, Renaissance and contemporary music from Spain and Latin America, traditional carols of the season and traditional Chanukah songs.

Since 1969, the Western Wind has devoted itself to the special beauty and variety of a cappella music. Based in New York City, the ensemble's six members are all accomplished musicians and performers in their own right. In addition to maintaining a demanding performance schedule in the U.S., which has included such venues as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, and The Library of Congress, The Western Wind Western Wind has performed for audiences' worldwide.

The group regularly conducts Workshops in Ensemble Singing, and as part of its non-profit mission to spread the joy of music to people of all ages, The Western Wind also coordinates an arts-in-education program in the New York City public school system.

Since 1989, the ensemble has produced a series of radio programs distributed throughout the United States by National Public Radio and Public Radio International. The programs address topics ranging from settings of love songs throughout the centuries to a musical narrative of the Jewish High Holy Days. The Western Wind also has produced seventeen recordings.