My Favorite Concert

MY FAVORITE CONCERT

Ladies and Gentlemen, this past weekend's Christmas concert was my favorite program of the year bar none. That's saying much considering the great experience we had at Brucemore at the beginning of the season. Christmas is filled with so many musical traditions and this is the first time in a long while that I got to share the kind of music that I grew up with. For the greater part of my professional career, most holiday programs were comprised of various pops arrangements. You'd be surprised at how few arrangements of quality there are available for symphony orchestra. As a result, symphonic holiday programs can be very similar in style and content. There is a whole universe of Christmas music that is left unexplored.To me Christmas is about choral music and singing. Partnering with the Chamber Singers of Iowa City was a true joy and allowed me to get in touch with this side of myself that has been silent for quite some time. The chance to perform even small amounts of the Bach Christmas Oratorio was an absolute dream. This is one of the greatest works ever written, but just hasn't caught on in North America. Stitching this music together with excerpts from Handel's Messiah and the dramatic readings of John Ryal and Joan Kjaer made the evening flow effortlessly. The kids, as always, outdid themselves whether it was the touching performance of the Discovery Chorus, or the ever well-trained Espressivo ensemble. Most of all, my heartfelt gratitude goes out to David Puderbaugh, music director of the Chamber Singers. I remember during the summer when we sat down to design the program together and I knew then that we had something special on our hands. It's no secret that the performances sold out, which means next season, you better get your tickets early, because I think we've found something truly magical for the holiday season. See you in a few weeks for Follidays!

No comments have been posted for this item.