Holiday Mine Sing at the Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums

PLATTEVILLE, Wis., Dec. 7, 2018—A new Holiday Mine Sing tradition begins at The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums on Saturday, December 15th, at 4 p.m.: The Chough Singers men’s Cornish chorus performs a selection of lively Cornish standards underground in the 1845 Bevans Lead Mine following a traditional American Christmas choral presentation by the 50-member Platteville Chorale in the Museums.

In preparation for the evening of music, the stunning 14-foot holiday tree returns to the Museums as a centerpiece of the spacious east display gallery. The tree is densely decorated with trinkets, toys, gifts, and edibles to echo the historic American Christmas tree of the Victorian era.As in past years, the gallery will be arranged with comfortable seats facing the tree and the 50-member Platteville Chorale encircling guests with their beautiful harmonies evocative of holidays past. 

A second musical performance by the Chough Singers is a new addition to the program this year. This seven-member a cappella men’s chorus from Mineral Point will share images of life of the early lead miners in our region, particularly those who hailed from Cornwall at the southern tip of the British Isles, while they entertain with Cornish standards. The Choughs, pronounced “chuffs” and named for a common Cornish black bird, will start the performance with two historic songs in the Museums. Those who are able are then invited to descend the 90-steps into the underground Bevans Mine in the back yard of the Museums campus for the rest of their musical program. Temperatures in the Bevans Mine are in the 50s.

“Hearing these warm voices underground surrounded by high walls of stone will connect us to a sense of place and our region’s past in a whole new way,” said Museum Director Erik Flesch. “To simultaneously enjoy nature, culture, science and art is an experience that only a museum can provide. The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums are honored to offer this and other innovative new programs in every season in our architectural spaces both above ground and below.”

Visitors are encouraged to make reservations in advance online at www.mining.jamison.museum or by phone at (608) 348-3301. The cost of the program is $10 for adults age 18 and older, $5 for children 6-17, $8.50 for seniors ages 65 and older, and free for children under 5.Accommodations will be made with advance request for those who prefer to hear the Choughs from above ground at the top of the steps.