Ever wanted to hear the “Carol of the Bells” performed by an actual hand-bell choir? Masterworks Chorale of Skaneateles will offer that selection and more in honor of the holiday season. The hand bell choir members are guests of the Masterworks vocal chorale. Other selections at the Masterworks concert by the hand bell choir will be “Mary Did You Know” and “One Night in Bethlehem.”

The Masterworks Chorale will perform “Here We Come A-Wassailing,” “Mary Had a Baby” and Benjamin Britten#'s “Wolcum Yole,” an old English selection. They will also offer the vocal stylings of soprano Melissa Howe in solos during “I Wonder as I Wander” and “Away in a Manger.”

Also performed vocally will be composer Randall Thompson#'s “Choose Something Like a Star” from the collection of songs called Frostiana based on the poetry of Robert Frost. Also on the Christmas concert set list will be the “Overture to the Nutcracker Suite.” “Mary's Lullaby” by composer John Rutter will follow. A cellist will accompany the chorale during the piece. The chorale will then invite the audience to sing well-known Christmas carols including “Come All Ye Faithful” and “Angels We Have Heard on High.”

“It#'s absolutely tradition to have the audience participate with us. They love and it (and so do we),” said Masterworks Chorale business manager and member Vickie Clark.

Upon hearing the Masterworks Chorale, it is apparent that the group is in perfect balance. With baritones leading the way, altos providing full, rich harmony and sopranos tickling the top of the register, every song from the group is a delight.

The chorale performs its more “serious” concert in mid-winter, according to Clark. That concert is usually held in February or March.

The Masterworks Chorale is 42 years old, having been founded in 1965 by Dr. Joseph Centrone, the organization's first conductor, who formed a chorus from four of the church choirs in Marcellus. The present conductor, Maureen McCauley, assumed leadership in 1977. Throughout the years, an emphasis was placed on the performance of classical music.

For seven of the chorale#'s 42 years, James and Carol Vedder of Elbridge have been involved. “Sometimes people sing in choirs because it gives them something to do but everyone in the chorale really loves the music,” James said.

If you go

What: Masterworks Chorale Christmas concert

Where: St. Mary#'s of the Lake Roman Catholic Church, 81 Jordan St., Skaneateles

When: 4 p.m. Sunday

Cost: $8 for adults, $6 for children 13 and older, free for children 12 and younger; guests are asked to bring a non-perishable canned food item for the needy.