In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Renaissance sacred music group, The Tallis Scholars will perform “While Shepherds Watched.”

This program takes on the Christmas story from the point of view of the shepherds who came to worship at the crib and features the works of Jacob Clemens non Papa, Tomàs Luis de Victoria, Pedro de Christo, Giovanni Croce, Jacob Obrecht, and founder and director Peter Philips.

The holiday concert takes place on Dec. 15 at BroadStage located in the Santa Monica Performing Arts Center.

The Tallis Scholars perform in both sacred and secular venues, giving around 80 concerts each year. The ensemble’s 2023-24 season features performances in Japan, the USA, Paris, Dresden, Ravenna and Helsinki, and a number of appearances in London as well as their usual touring schedule in Europe and the UK. To mark Josquin des Prez’s 500th anniversary The Tallis Scholars sang all 18 of the composer’s masses over the course of four days at the Boulez Saal in Berlin in July 2022, only to repeat this
feat in Utrecht in summer 2023.