Burke & Surette release Christmas CD: The local musical duo of Susie Burke and David Surette have a new Christmas CD coming out on Thursday, Dec. 9—just in time for their annual Christmas concert at Kittery Point Congregational Church on Friday, Dec. 10.

Titled “Wonderland,” the CD features Burke’s warm voice and Surette’s nimble finger picking, along with guest accompaniment from multi-instrumentalist Kent Allyn and percussionist PJ Donahue. Recorded at Chris Magruder’s Thundering Sky studio in the couple’s hometown of South Berwick, the album includes many of the holiday songs that have featured prominently at their annual Christmas gigs.

The concert will be filled with vocal and instrumental arrangements of Christmas carols and other seasonal songs, along with standard fare from the duo’s vast repertoire. Allyn will join the couple for a set of music influenced by folk, jazz, Celtic, rock, blues, Broadway and beyond.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 10 at Kittery Point Congregational Church, 23 Pepperrell Road, Kittery, Maine. Tickets are $15 ($10 for students and seniors). For more information, call 207-384-8151.

Con Tutti presents Scandinavian solstice concert: In a season of short days and long, dark nights, vocal ensemble Con Tutti is leading a concert of songs that celebrate light. The 100-singer ensemble will perform the Scandinavian-inspired solstice “Music for the Stars” on Saturday, Dec. 11, at South Church in Portsmouth.

Director Joanne Connolly spent the spring studying music from Sweden, Finland, Norway and Lapland, learning traditional songs that evoke light, friendship and folk wisdom. The concert will also include English street criers, American shape note music, Welsh songs, and an American gospel piece by Vermont composer John Harrison. The audience is invited to sing along on songs familiar and foreign.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 11 at South Church, 292 State St., Portsmouth. Tickets are $8, on sale now at Paradiza on Penhallow Street. For more information, call 207-451-9346.

PMAC holiday concerts: Students from the Portsmouth Music and Arts Center will share a bit of what they’ve learned during two upcoming holiday concerts. The Bow Street Youth Orchestra and the Bow Street Junior Ensemble, both PMAC programs, will perform in York on Saturday, Dec. 11, and in Portsmouth on Sunday, Dec. 12.

The Youth Orchestra, conducted by Augusto Salazar, includes intermediate and advanced students who play string, woodwind and brass instruments. The Junior Ensemble features early intermediate string students. During their annual holiday concerts, they will perform music by Wagner, Telemann, Holst and Purcell.

The Saturday show begins at 7 p.m. at York-Ogunquit United Methodist Church, 1026 Route 1, York, Maine. The Sunday show begins at 2 p.m. in Portsmouth Public Library’s Levenson Room, 175 Parrott Ave., Portsmouth. Both shows are free and open to the public. For more information, call 603-431-4278, or visit www.pmaconline.org. —MK