Contributed by Drewcilla Holifield, Mat-Su Concert Band
December Delights Concert
December 20-21, 2019 - 7:30PM
The Mat-Su Concert Band
The Glenn Massay Theater
8295 E College Dr. Palmer
Tickets: FREE Ages )-5, $5 Students, $20 General Admission
The Mat-Su Concert Band will perform its popular holiday concert, combining seasonal classics and lesser-known holiday gems, at two separate performances.
The “December Delights” concerts will take place December 20th and December 21st at 7:30 p.m. at The Glenn Massay Theater at Mat-Su College. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $5 for students. Children under 5 get in free. Tickets can be purchased online at www.matsuconcertband.org.
The concert includes the band’s popular audience sing-along, as well as a number of masterworks for the holiday.
The Nutcracker Ballet, with music written by P.I. Tchaikovsky, has become part of the holiday tradition with its Christmas Eve tale of the Prince and Clara, the evil Mouse King, and a troupe of dancing dolls. The band will perform Tchaikovsky’s music in “Suite from The Nutcracker”: eight numbers culminating in the whirling “Waltz of the Flowers”.
The talent of the band’s saxophone section leader and board president, Bruce Brown, is showcased in “O Holy Night”, the well-known Christmas carol composed in 1847 by Adolphe Adam. As legend has it, a French soldier fighting in the Franco-Prussian War during 1871 rose from a trench to sing three verses of the song. Soon after, a German soldier climbed out and sang another carol and both sides observed a 24-hour truce for Christmas Day.
The band will also perform several pieces commemorating the Chanukah holiday including “Eight Nights of Light” – an arrangement of traditional tunes – and “A Chanukah Celebration”, arranged by David Bobrowitz.
Other selections scheduled for performance include “A Christmas Intrada” by Alfred Reed, “A Christmas Festival” by Leroy Anderson, “With Every Winter’s Breath” by Randall D. Standridge, “The Sussex Mummers’ Christmas Carol” by Percy Grainger, and “In the Bleak Midwinter” by Gustav Holst.
About the Mat-Su Concert Band:
Mat-Su Concert Band got its start in 1984 as the Mat-Su Community Band, formed by Matanuska Music owner, Hank Hartman. Other directors have included Neil Long and Phil Munger.
Current director, Gleo Huyck, is a retired music educator and private instructor. Under Huyck’s baton, the band performs a wide-ranging selection of challenging music. The band this season numbers about 70 amateur musicians who assemble every Monday night for rehearsals at Teeland Middle School.
