Residents of Crenshaw County will soon get the opportunity to hear a world-class harpist and also help a local charity.

On Dec. 20, the Luverne United Methodist Church will be holding “Christmas Music in the Sanctuary” featuring harpist Brittany Hicken Burns.

The concert starts at 6:30 p.m., and admission is free, but donations will be accepted for Safe Harbor Children’s Advocacy Center.

Burns has spent the past five and a half years studying and performing music in New York City.

As a professional freelancer, she has performed as an orchestral musician in many New York-based orchestras and opera companies and as a soloist at churches and weddings.

She has performed in a variety of venues, ranging from Carnegie Hall to the lawns of Central Park.

Last season Ms. Burns performed the Ginastera Harp Concerto with the Manhattan School of Music Philharmonia Orchestra after winning first place in the Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition.

She was also featured as the soloist in Debussy’s Danses Sacree et Profane with the Riverside Orchestra.

Ms. Burns received her Bachelor’s Degree from Manhattan School of Music in 2011, where she studied with Susan Jolles of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

As a recipient of the Baisley Powell Elebash Scholarship she is currently completing her Master’s Degree in Orchestral Performance from the same institution.

Music outreach is important to Ms. Burns, and she has volunteered for a variety of services, including senior centers, Primary Children’s Hospital, and Jordan Valley School for special education.

The performance at LUMC is her second Christmas benefit concert and she hopes to make this an annual tradition.

One of Ms. Burns’ greatest concerns is the decreasing interest in classical music in today’s society, and she hopes to make a difference by connecting with audiences through sharing her thoughts and feelings about music.