BY RUTH RICE
RRICE@TRIBDEM.COM
Johnstown Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas concert will combine dance, music and memories for a true family holiday celebration.
“Spectacular Family Christmas” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center, Richland Township.
The orchestra will be joined by the symphony chorus, the a cappella quintet White Noise and Johnstown Concert Ballet.
“This is a gala family celebration, and it’s absolutely wonderful to combine all the arts,” said Maestro Istvan Jaray, the symphony’s music director.
“We wanted to make this concert as versatile and colorful as possible and include every branch of the arts.”
Jaray had Johnstown Concert Ballet perform several years ago and was pleased to invite the dancers back.
The ballet troupe will dance to a move-ment from Tchaikovsky’s “Orchestral Suite No. 1” and Leroy Anderson’s popular “Sleigh Ride.”
White Noise will perform two seasonal numbers, the traditional Welsh carol “Festive Deck the Hall” and “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” in addition to joining the orchestra for an arrangement of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.”
The quintet includes soprano Elizabeth Good, alto Kristen Santos, tenor Nathan Santos, tenor/baritone Mark Weakland and Douglas Wilkin on bass and guitar.
Good plays violin for the symphony, and Nathan Santos plays bass.
“I’m fond of White Noise,” Jaray said.
“They’ve appeared with us a number of times. They add some vocals in addition to the chorus.”
The familiar music of Suzy Snowflake, Frosty the Snowman and Hard Rock, Coco and Joe, which premiered several years ago in “Johnstown Christmas Memories,” is back – and this time it has words.
Suzy, Frosty and the elf trio have appeared for decades on holiday commercials aired by WJAC-TV.
This year White Noise will add vocals to the beloved tunes.
When “Johnstown Christmas Memories” premiered, its content was kept secret. Patricia Hofscher, executive director of the symphony, said the performance brought down the house.
The symphony chorus, under the direction of Samuel Louis Coco, will perform “Gloria, O Holy Night” and “Variations on Jingle Bells.”
Another new feature to this year’s concert will be Larry Olek, executive director of the Lee Foundation, narrating Clement Moore’s holiday poem “The Night Before Christmas” while the orchestra plays music especially written for it.
“Music enhances it,” Jaray said. “The piece was written for these words. ... The poem is wonderful, but musically, it’s also a wonderful piece.”
The orchestra will open the concert with “Christmas Fanfare” and perform holiday favorites such as “Carol of the Bells” and “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers.”
Members of the symphony chorus and White Noise will lead the audience in several sing-alongs.
“We end with a sing-along,” Jaray said. “When we say family, we mean family, and the audience is part of the family.
“They won’t just sit there, they will be part of the celebration. Everyone loves to sing with the orchestra.”
Sounds of the season
What: “Spectacular Family Christmas” presented by Johnstown Symphony Orchestra.
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center, Richland Township.
Tickets: $35 for reserved, $30 for general admission, $22 for seniors and $12 for students.
Information: 535-6738 or www.johns-townsymphony.org.
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Holiday dazzle | Symphony concert wraps up family favorites
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