When Shelia Jackson was a little girl sitting on the steps of the housing project singing “Here Comes Santa Claus,” she never dreamed that one day she would be spotlighted in a Christmas concert with hundreds of people applauding her voice.

Jackson has the gift of song. She’s not sure why God gave her that gift but she is sure that He expects her to use it for the good.

So, each year at Christmastime, Jackson invites a host of her talented friends to join her on the stage of the Claudia Crosby Theater for the Shelia Jackson and Friends Christmas Concert.

The annual concert is sponsored by the Troy Arts Council as a gift to the community.

Tickets to TAC-sponsored performances are usually $20 but the Christmas Concert tickets are only $10.

“The Troy Arts Council wants to make the concert affordable for all of those who want to come,” Jackson said. “For all of us on stage, we are just honored to be a part of bringing joy to others at Christmastime.”

The 2016 Shelia Jackson and Friends Concert is at 7 p.m. December 9 at the Claudia Crosby Theater on the campus of Troy University. Tickets are on sale by calling 334-372-7191 or at the Troy Tourism Office in downtown Troy. Tickets will also be available at the door.

The TAC-sponsored Christmas Concert is actually two-concerts in one. The first half of the program features blues, jazz, pop and Broadway tunes with some gospel and maybe even a country song or two “songs like ‘The Tennessee Waltz’ and Ann Murray’s ‘Could I Have This Dance?’”

“We have something for everyone –songs, music, dancing and even a bit of comedy,” Jackson said. “The second half of the concert is all Christmas music – the carols and songs of the season. The beautiful music of Christmas.”

Jackson’s “friends” will include the band and the background singers that have been a part of Jackson and Friends for several years. Featured vocalists will include familiar voices from around Pike County and new voices from Birmingham, Montgomery, Enterprise and Phenix City.

“The concert takes a lot of hard work and a lot of long hours but we all enjoy it and are blessed by it,” Jackson said. “It’s special to me because my children Patrick, Haley and Gabby are part of the concert and, of course, so many wonderful, talented friends. We all receive so much joy from sharing the gift of song. We are blessed to be able to be a part of Christmas in Pike County.”

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