Chas Lester of Portland will be the guest vocalist as the Greater Freeport Community Chorus presents “Gloria!” on Dec. 13-14. Lester, 32, is an instructor and ensemble coordinator at the Maine Academy of Modern Music, which provides music instruction to musicians and educators in the area. He instructs on voice and percussion, as well as ensemble, and coordinates music camps.

He grew up in Hallowell, and studied music at the University of Maine at Augusta. He and his wife, Jen, have lived in Portland for four years.

Robert Ray’s “Gospel Mass,” featuring Lester as vocalist, will be a highlight of “Gloria!” Kellie Moody, who has worked with area youth, including students at Freeport High School, will accompany Lester on piano. Ray transformed the ceremony’s traditional words to African-American rhythm harmonies. Virgil Bozeman, artistic director of the Freeport Community Chorus, will be the director.

The Dec. 13 will be at Merriconeag Waldorf School on Desert Road in Freeport at 7:30 p.m. The Dec. 14 show is a matinee at the Congregational Church in Cumberland, beginning at 2:30.

Lester answered questions on his career and the concert for the Tri-Town Weekly.

Q: What can the audience expect from this particular approach to the “Gospel Mass?”

A: We’re holding fairly close to the original arrangement. You can expect a really great choral performance because Virgil Bozeman’s a great director. He knows how to make people free comfortable. The piece was written in the late ‘70s. My part of the piece will be informed by not only the music that came before, but by the music that came after it.

Q: Is this a new twist on Christmas music?

A: The beauty of it is that it’s very traditional. Virgil is steeped in the history of choral music. It’s timeless.

Q: Is this “improv” music? Can you talk about that concept, and what you enjoy about it?

A: The only piece that would be improv is my performance in the “Gospel Mass.” I like the idea of being able to interject my musical fingerprint, my vocal fingerprint, of a piece.

Q: Tell us about your affiliation with the Greater Freeport Community Chorus.

A: This is my first year with them directly. Everybody in the choir has been very supportive. They were a joy to work with – very kind people. I worked with Virgil at the old Kennebec Conservatory in Augusta, now The Musicians 1st Choice. We hit it off. He approached me a few months ago, and as a jazz singer, that’s part of my wheelhouse.

Q: What is your role with the Maine Academy of Modern Music, and what does that organization do?

A: I am a music coordinator and an instructor of voice and drums. We have a presence in the community. We do events at local venues.

Q: How did you become involved in African-American rhythm harmonies?

A: I as a kid, my mother had a great CD selection. She listened to a lot of soul music. I tended to gravitate toward that. I loved Stevie Wonder in particular. That really stuck with me, and I formed my musical identity.

Jazz vocalist Chas Lester, a guest performer with the Greater Freeport Community Chorus, says audiences can expect “a really great choral performance” with “Gloria!”