The holidays are almost here, and the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble is celebrating with concerts packed with festive favorites, a few surprises, and music for every age.
We open with Leroy Anderson's A Christmas Festival, a medley of favorite carols he arranged for the Boston Pops in 1950. Anderson returns later with Sleigh Ride, which he began writing during a July heat wave in 1946. Mel Tormé and Bob Wells did something similar the summer before: they wrote The Christmas Song ("Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...") on a hot summer day to help them think cool thoughts.
The program also has room for quieter moments. Adolphe Adam's Cantique de Noël, better known as "O Holy Night," is one of the most beloved carols ever written. "Do You Hear What I Hear?" was written in 1962 as a quiet prayer for peace. Patapan is an old French carol from Burgundy whose title copies the sound of a little drum, and Fantasy on a Bell Carol fills the hall with ringing bells.
For those who like their holidays with a twist, David Lovrien's Carols from the Dark Side moves familiar carols into minor keys, with spooky results. A certain green someone shows up too, in Albert Hague's music from How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
We'll also travel to the snowy Russian countryside with the Train Ride from Prokofiev's Winter Holiday. John Philip Sousa joins the party in Jingle Bells Forever, where "Jingle Bells" meets "The Stars and Stripes Forever." Every concert ends with the whole room celebrating together in Joy to the World.
Bring your family and friends, and start your holiday season with us!