As winter nights lengthen, stars shine bright overhead. They shine too in the Christmas story, where Mary and her newborn son are each likened to guiding stars. This concert finds hope in stars of night and morning, in the heroes of our lives, and in the comfort we offer one another. Recent works by living American and Canadian composers, including several from the Pacific Northwest, join beloved traditional carols. We feature Composer-in-Residence John Muehleisen, whose luminescent setting of seven liturgical texts for Advent anchors the evening.