Philadelphia Orchestra Celebrates the Holiday Season with three Festive Concert Offerings

Wells Fargo-supported outreach gives the community access to the Orchestra’s popular holiday offerings

(Philadelphia, November 18, 2011)–The Philadelphia Orchestra brings holiday cheer to audiences with its three holiday concert offerings—The Glorious Sound of Christmas, Handel’s Messiah, and the Orchestra’s beloved New Year’s Eve Concert. This year Wells Fargo continues its support of the Orchestra’s outreach activities by providing greater community access to the Orchestra’s popular holiday offerings. Through a special open rehearsal for the Glorious Sound of Christmas, hundreds of under-served school children will have the opportunity to experience a performance. In addition, Wells Fargo is donating tickets to under-served families from the region to provide the community access to all of the Orchestra’s holiday concerts. 

The Glorious Sound of Christmas, named after the Orchestra’s 1962 best-selling album, will commence the holiday performances. Led by Rossen Milanov and featuring the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, this year’s set of concerts is a collaboration between the Orchestra, the Curtis Institute of Music, and the Opera Company of Philadelphia. This joyful program includes radiant carols, timeless holiday classics, and a narration of “’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” set to music by William Holcombe and featuring special guest narrator Pat Ciarrocchi from CBS3-TV. 

The annual performance of Handel’s Messiah will be led for the first time in the Orchestra’s performance history by a woman conductor. Jane Glover, in her Philadelphia Orchestra debut, will conduct this Baroque classic that has become as integral to the American holiday season as Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Messiah, which Handel penned in 24 days in the summer of 1741, remains a miracle of musical creation, not just because of the speed with which it was composed but because of its unflagging inspiration and extraordinary durability.

The holiday season culminates in the Orchestra’s beloved New Year’s Eve Concert, led by Sarah Hicks. Featuring two classic Strauss waltzes, “Voices of Spring” and “On the Beautiful Blue Danube,” the New Year’s Eve Concert is the perfect way to start the New Year in style with The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Guest Conductors

A sought-after guest conductor on the international music scene, Rossen Milanov has been recognized as “one of the most-promising figures in the upcoming generation of conductors” (Seattle Times). He currently holds the positions of music director of the Princeton Symphony, Symphony in C, and the New Symphony Orchestra in his native city of Sofia, Bulgaria. To read his full bio, please visit http://www.rossenmilanov.net/biography.php.

Jane Glover, music director of Chicago’s Music of the Baroque since 2002 and artistic director of opera at London’s Royal Academy of Music, makes her Philadelphia Orchestra debut with Messiah. Click here to view Ms. Glover’s full bio: http://www.janeglover.co.uk/biography.htm.

Associate conductor of the North Carolina Symphony and staff conductor at the Curtis Institute of Music, Sarah Hicks makes her debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra in its beloved New Year’s Eve Concert. Please visit http://sarahhicksconductor.com/web/bio.aspx to view Ms. Hicks’s full biography.

Guest Artists

Performing under the auspices of one the Orchestra’s most storied partners, the Curtis Institute of Music, violinists Anastasia Agapova, Rebecca Anderson, Maia Cabeza, and Ji-Won Song join The Philadelphia Orchestra for the Glorious Sound of Christmas. For more information on the Curtis Institute of Music, please visit: http://www.curtis.edu/.

Soprano Elizabeth Zharoff and tenor Cody Austin perform a scene from Act I of Puccini’s beloved La bohème, under the auspices of the Opera Company of Philadelphia. Ms. Zharoff’s full bio can be viewed here: http://www.elizabethzharoff.com/. For Mr. Austin’s full bio, please click here: http://www.piperanselmi.com/austin.html.

The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia continues its partnership with the Orchestra as its singers once again perform at the Glorious Sound of Christmas. For more information about the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, click here: http://www.mcchorus.org/wp/.

Co-host of CBS 3’s Emmy Award-winning news and lifestyle program, Talk Philly, Pat Ciarrocchi narrates William Holcombe’s ’Twas the Night Before Christmas for a second year in a row. Ms. Ciarrocchi’s full bio can be viewed here: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/personality/pat-ciarrocchi/.

Soprano Susanna Phillips, mezzo-soprano Phyllis Pancella, tenor John McVeigh, and baritone Stephen Powell perform as guest soloists in the Orchestra’s presentation of the Baroque classic Messiah. The artists’ bios can be viewed by clicking on the artist’s name.

The Philadelphia Singers Chorale continues its association with The Philadelphia Orchestra by joining it for performances of Handel’s Messiah. To learn more about the Philadelphia Singers Chorale, click here: http://www.philadelphiasingers.org/default.asp.

Under the auspices of Dance Affiliates and Artistic Director Randy Swartz, dancers Adrienne Cantema, Randy Dias, Viktorija Dias, and Rasta Thomas perform in The Philadelphia Orchestra’s New Year’s Eve Concert. For additional information on Dance Affiliates, please click here: http://danceaffiliates.org/index.php.

THE GLORIOUS SOUND OF CHRISTMAS

December 15 at 7:00 PM – Thursday evening – Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

December 16 at 7:00 PM – Friday evening – Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

December 17 at 7:00 PM – Saturday evening – Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

The Philadelphia Orchestra lends its lush sound to timeless holiday classics! Named for the Orchestra’s best-selling Christmas album, these concerts are ideal for listeners of all ages and are sure to put you into the holiday spirit!   

The Philadelphia Orchestra

Rossen Milanov Conductor

Anastasia Agapova Violin

Rebecca Anderson Violin

Maia Cabeza Violin

Ji-Won Song Violin

Elizabeth Zharoff Soprano

Cody Austin Tenor

Pat Ciarrocchi Narrator

Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia

     Alan Harler Artistic Director

Mendelssohn                           “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing”

Bach                                       “Dona nobis pacem,” from Mass in B minor

Vivaldi                                      Concerto for Four Violins

Tchaikovsky                             Excerpts from The Nutcracker

Various                                    The Many Moods of Christmas, Suite II

Bass                                        Gloria

Puccini                                    Scene from Act I of La bohème

Fry                                           “The Hall Bedecked!”

Holcombe                                ’Twas the Night Before Christmas

Gruber                                     “Silent Night”

Handel                                     “Hallelujah,” from Messiah

The violinists appear under the auspices of the Curtis Institute of Music.

La bohème soloists appear under the auspices of the Opera Company of Philadelphia.

Special holiday events sponsored by Wells Fargo.

Tickets: $10-$107, 215.893.1999 or www.philorch.org.

 MESSIAH