Five Things You Need to Know Today, Dec. 9

1. Time to bundle up. Expect a high of 49 degrees with partly sunny skies and a breeze up from Westport. We'll have a low near freezing overnight.

2.Consider our history. This day in 1861, Congress established the "War Committee" to oversee Lincoln's conduct of the War Between the States. Stacked with Radical Republican abolitionists, it objected to any Democrats serving as generals in the U.S. Army. In 1921, General Motors engineers discovered adding lead to gasoline would quiet engines.

3. Meet The Mom's Club. They will gather at the from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m.

4. Bring your instrument, join a session. The Student Session with John Kearney & Friends gets going at 7 p.m. at the , 200 New Boston Drive. The weekly session with Bill Black follows at 9 p.m.

5. Hear an 85-voice chorus, orchestra and soloists. Under the direction of Jonathan Barnhart, the Dedham Choral Society will perform music sung in Spanish, Latin and a rare Native American dialect. The program will include:   Magnificat-Alleluia by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Retablo de Navidad by Joaquin Rodrigo, and Misa San Ignacio by Domenico Zipoli.  Additional compositions for the Missions of Mexico and Peru including: Ignacio de Jerusalem, Juan Garcia de Zespedes, Juan de Araujo, and Manuel de Zumaya. Cost: $25. Time: 7:30pm. Place: 1689 Centre Street West Roxbury.