The New Hampshire Philharmonic kicks off the holiday season with its annual holiday pops concert, this year at the Stockbridge Theatre in Derry on November 29.
The evening provides a way for concertgoers to step into the holiday season with an evening of pleasing musical chestnuts. The concert will take place on Saturday, November 29 at 8 pm in the renowned Stockbridge Theatre at Pinkerton Academy in Derry.
Area journalist Beth Carroll hosts the festivities. Well-known for her role as Host/Producer of New Hampshire Outlook on New Hampshire Public Television, Ms. Carroll will be providing engaging commentary on the pieces performed throughout the evening.
The evening provides an international musical tour of holiday favorites. The first half is oriented towards light classical works, and the second half is devoted to pops favorites. The first half of the festive evening includes Sleigh Ride by New England native Leroy Anderson, the tuneful Blue Danube Waltz of Strauss, and selections from the Messiah by George Frederick Handel.
Music Director Anthony Princiotti commented on the program. “There is a lot of music commonly described as “popular” that is of very high quality, and the classical repertoire is filled with pieces that are utterly accessible and entertaining. We program both types of music on our Pops concerts, and I think that’s why they’ve traditionally been so successful. Pops concerts are a wonderful part of the Philharmonic’s musical offerings because they allow us to reach out to new audiences.”
The youthful voices of the Pinkerton Academy Chorale will join the Philharmonic in the first half for choral selections from the Messiah, and return in the second half for a medley of light-hearted Christmas pops songs. The Pinkerton Academy Chorale is being prepared for the concert by Thomas Quigley, with Melanie Whitney and Sandra Clarke.
The Pinkerton Academy Chorale has previously sung with the New Hampshire Symphony and the Nashua Symphony Orchestra, and at the New Hampshire Education Awards, the NH Martin Luther King Celebration, and for various local and regional venues. In 1994, the choir was selected to represent the State of New Hampshire for the 50th Anniversary of D-Day celebrations in Washington, D.C., the premier of the Zulu mass in April of 2007, and last May members of the Chorale represented New Hampshire singing with the 400th Jamestown, Virginia Anniversary Festival Chorus. In addition to these performances the Chorale has consistently achieved Superior Awards at national choral festivals
After intermission, the second half of the program will include a new favorite of Holiday Pops audiences – Brazilian Sleigh Bells, and the all-time American favorite White Christmas by Irving Berlin. A highlight of the evening will be the ever-popular Carol Sing-along. “Audience members tell us that the sing-along is in many ways their favorite part of the evening,” Princiotti commented. “When else do you get to sing along with both a full choir and a full orchestra?” Words to these favored carols will be provided in the program book, which will also feature the Philharmonic’s amusing holiday word search puzzles.
Also featured on the program will be the co-winner of the Philharmonic’s sixth annual youth concerto competition, a talented young cellist from Hanover. Rebecca Haynes will be playing a movement from the Cello Concerto in C by Haydn. Ms. Haynes is already well known around the state by music educators for her accomplished playing.
The Philharmonic’s holiday concerts typically end with the crowd-pleasing encore Jingle Bells Forever, a blending of the melody of James Pierpont’s popular Christmas song with a John Phillip Sousa march.
The concert takes place on Saturday, November 29 (8 pm) at the Stockbridge Theatre at Pinkerton Academy, Derry. Tickets range in price from $20 to $50 and are available through the box office at 603/437 5210. Complete information about the 104th season of the New Hampshire Philharmonic can be found at www.nhphil.org.
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Established in 1905, the Philharmonic is the state’s premier training orchestra. The Philharmonic serves as a living laboratory, bringing together the most accomplished students, amateurs and professionals from around the state in compelling concerts of the core repertoire.
The concert is sponsored by Fairpoint Communications and supported by the Arbors at Bedford.
The Philharmonic’s 104th season is made possible through the generous support of the members of the Philharmonic Society, Peerless Insurance, the Frederick Smyth Institute for Music, the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support comes from Graphicast, Hinckley Allen Snyder, Delta Dental and Bank of America.
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