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November 30, 2006
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A holiday music tsunami Anyone at the New Hampshire Philharmonic?s holiday pops concert this past weekend wouldn?t be blamed for putting away all the Christmas CDs and carol books until next year. The concert, held Saturday, Nov. 25, at Manchester?s Palace Theatre, contained enough good holiday music to fill an entire season?s quota. Under the direction of Anthony Princiotti, the Philharmonic delivered just the right mix of good music and fun holiday arrangements. Music groups hoping to be different at the holidays sometimes get too esoteric, but the Philharmonic walks the programming tightrope with confidence. And so yes, you got the Leroy Anderson ?Sleigh Ride? piece, with its whip and braying muted trumpets. But you also got fantastically effective music from Tchaikovsky?s ?Nutcracker? ballet score that?s seldom heard in the concert hall, and which perfectly complemented a movement from Mozart?s oboe concerto. Soloist in the Mozart was Tim Gocklin, a junior at Manchester?s Memorial High School and winner of the Philharmonic?s annual youth concerto concert. Gocklin had mastered the piece enough to have fun with it. The jaunty melodic licks came across as playful and effortless, an effect that must have taken a lot of work to achieve. Beth Carroll of New Hampshire Public Television provided unobtrusive commentary, keeping the focus on the music. Though one arrangement, ?It?s Christmas Time,? sagged a bit, the rest of the program was a crackerjack treat of a tight orchestra playing at the top of its game. In the guest department, recently re-elected Gov. John Lynch got a chance to lead the orchestra in a Sousa-style march version of ?Jingle Bells.? Lynch is a popular politician, so we hope he?s not disappointed to hear that when conducting, he resembles a set of windshield wipers. The Philharmonic was only the leading edge of a veritable tsunami of holiday music about to wash over southern New Hampshire. Here?s a peek at what?s up this weekend and beyond. ? Manchester Choral Society: With director Dan Perkins, expect the unexpected. The year?s annual ?Christmas Tapestry? concert features ?A Child?s Christmas in Wales? by Matthew Harris with string quartet and piano. It?s worthwhile music you won?t hear anywhere else. Two performances: Saturday, Dec. 2, at 8 p.m. at St. Joseph Cathedral, 145 Lowell St., Manchester; and Sunday, Dec. 3, at 3 p.m. at the Abbey Church, Saint Anselm College, 100 St. Anselm Drive, Goffstown. Tickets $20, $15 seniors/students. For info, call 800-639-2928 or visit www.mcsnh.org. ? Concord Community Chorus: It?s not Christmas without at least one Messiah performance. For the 76th year in a row, the group will sing through Handel?s oratorio Messiah, this time under the direction of newly appointed music director Ben Greene. Two performances at St. Paul?s Episcopal Church, 21 Centre St., Concord: Saturday, Dec. 2, during the day (time to be announced) and Sunday, Dec. 3, at 7:30 p.m. Free admission. ? Concord Chorale: Conductor Ryan Turner turns back the clocks with ?Sounding Joy!? billed as a ?Baroque Christmas? holiday concert featuring works of Bach, Charpentier and Praetorius. Period instruments, too, with tenors Kyle Masterson and Aaron Sheehan and baritone Mark McSweeney joining as soloists. Two performances at South Congregational Church, Concord: Friday, Dec. 8, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 10, at 3 p.m. Tickets $20, seniors/students $15. For info, call 224-0770 or visit www.concordchorale.org. ? N.H. Gay Men?s Chorus: ?The First Breath of Winter? is this year?s holiday theme. Locally, the group will stage performances on Saturday, Dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m. at the Derryfield School in Manchester; on Sunday, Dec. 10, at 4 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Nashua. Tickets $16; seniors/children $12. For more info, visit www.nhgmc.com or call 866-644-6274. ? Nashua Symphony: Holiday pops ?Christmas Cabaret?-style, with the orchestra (under retiring conductor Royston Nash) playing in the ballroom of Nashua?s Sheraton Tara. Guest soprano Teri Hansen contributes solos; program includes the Nashua Symphony Choral Society under Diane Cushing. Not your usual sit-in-a-chair-and-listen pops. Sunday, Dec. 10, at 4 p.m.; cabaret seats sold out but others remain. Tickets $10 to $30; for more info call 595-9156 or visit www.nashuasymphony.org. |
11/16/2006 NHSO tries new directions
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