The American Bach Soloists are scheduled to present not one but two Christmas programs at the Mondavi Center this season:

Handel's Messiah -- 7:30 p.m. Dec. 22, Jackson Hall. This oratorio debuted in 1742 in Dublin, and has become a holiday tradition in many parts of the world. The Mondavi Center is no exception, with the Messiah on the schedule every year since the center opened in 2002.

The Mondavi Center Web site describes this Messiah program as "a majestic performance by the renowned American Bach Soloists, an acclaimed all-star ensemble of early music vocalists and instrumentalists."

Bach's Christmas Oratorio (Weihnachts Oratorium) -- 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28, Jackson Hall. For this joyous work, Jeffrey Thomas directs eight young specialists in the field of Bach vocal performance along with a diverse ensemble of musicians on period instruments, including horns, flutes, four oboes and a battery of brass.

On the Net: Listen to a Mondavi Center podcast featuring Thomas and Don Roth, the center's executive director, in a discussion of both these upcoming concerts; plus excerpts from the American Bach Soloists' Messiah performance at the Mondavi Center in 2004.

MORE AT THE MONDAVI

Blind Boys of Alabama Holiday Show -- 8 p.m. Dec. 20, Jackson Hall. The concert, based on the Blind Boys’ album Go Tell It On the Mountain, features bluesy, gospelized versions of seasonal favorites, old and new.