Judith Clurman conducts The Composer Speaks: Reason To Be Thankful. The Composer Speaks workshops involve a presentation of musical selections followed by a discussion between the composers, librettists, conductor Judith Clurman, and audience members about musical choices and compositional techniques. The performance on December 10 features an innovative, and diverse selection of holiday music. EVUSA will premiere Judith Clurman’s choral adaptation of Roberto Sierra’s Gloria from Missa Latina, give the first public performance of Reason to be Thankful by Larry Hochman (composer) and Sheldon Harnick (librettist), and also perform Songs of Freedom: A Celebration of Chanukah, a thrilling new arrangement of Chanukah music by Clurman, Hochman, and Brian Stokes Mitchell, along with baritone soloist Steven Moore. During the concert, the audience will learn the Thanksgiving song The Cycle of Grace by John Glover (composer) and Kelley Rourke (librettist). The evening will conclude with an audience sing-a-long of traditional Christmas carols.