Diverse collection of Herberger College holiday concerts celebrates the season
TEMPE, Ariz. – Do you find the holiday season passes in a blur? That you get so stressed out with all the things you have to do that you realize you’re not even enjoying “the most wonderful time of the year?” Slow down and enjoy the season this year with musicians and singers from ASU’s Herberger College School of Music.
The annual Holiday Concert on Dec. 7 combines the talents of the University Symphony Orchestra with the School of Music’s choral program to present a rich tapestry of holiday favorites by composers from Handel and Mozart to Rimsky-Korsakov.
While not strictly a holiday event, the combined bands’ annual Pass in Review on Dec. 4 is a festival of music that has become an extremely popular event of the season. The Pass in Review showcases the talents of hundreds of ASU students who make up the university’s various bands, including the Sun Devil Marching Band performing this season's repertoire. The Concert Band and Wind Ensemble will play, as will the Chamber Winds Ensemble. The Wind Symphony, together with clarinet soloist Robert Spring, will present an encore performance of Black Dog from this fall’s concert Gone to the Dogs!
A new addition to the school’s holiday schedule this year is a special organ concert, celebrating the beautiful music of Christmas. The program, presented by professor of organ Kimberly Marshall and the ASU Organ Studio – including doctoral students from Great Britain, Korea and the United States – will include seasonal favorites based on Christmas carols, chorales and noels. Marshall says she hopes that the concert will become a part of the School of Music’s annual holiday calendar.
The event will feature French Noels by D'Aquin and Balbastre together with Dupré's virtuosic Variations on a Noel. Also included will be Bach's canonic variations on the Christmas chorale, Von Himmel hoch, which represent a high point in the history of counterpoint, and sound marvelous on the School of Music’s baroque-style Fritts organ. The concert is sure to get those attending into the spirit of the season with vibrant settings of carols in a variety of arrangements, some of which will even require four hands and four feet!
The complete Herberger College School of Music holiday season schedule is below. For more information on holiday or other college events, the public should call (480) 965-TUNE or visit the Herberger College Web Site at http://www.herbergercollege.asu.edu/ and click on the events calendar tab.
" Pass in Review" Concert
7:30 p.m., Dec. 4
Gammage Auditorium
Admission Price: $10; 480-965-3434
All of the bands in the Herberger College School of Music will be highlighted during this two-hour production showcasing the hundreds of talented students who make up the ASU Bands. One of the band ensembles, the Sun Devil Marching Band, will be featured, bringing its fall season halftime music to the Gammage stage.
Holiday Concert: University Symphony Orchestra, Choral Union and Sun Devil Singers
2:30 p.m., Dec. 7
Gammage Auditorium
Admission Price: $10 Adults, $7 Students; 480-965-3434
Timothy Russell, conductor and Anna Christy, soprano
Rimsky-Korsakov: Polonaise from Christmas Eve; Mozart: Alleluia from Exsultate Jubilate; Poulenc: Gloria; Herbert: March from Babes in Toyland; Tyzick: Chanukah Suite; Shaw/Bennett: Many Moods of Christmas Suite III; Handel (arr. Goosens): Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah.
Music for the Season: Concert Choir and Herberger Singers Concert
7:30 p.m., Dec. 8 and 9
Organ Hall
Admission Price: Free; 480-965-TUNE (8863)
David Schildkret, conductor and Craig Peterson, director
A Celebration of Christmas Organ Music
2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m., Dec. 14
Organ Hall
Admission Price: $14 General, $12 Seniors, Faculty and Staff, $5 Students.
Kimberly Marshall and the ASU Organ Studio perform a special holiday concert celebrating the beautiful music of Christmas. The program will include seasonal favorites, as well as an historical perspective on the organ's varied roles in embellishing the Christmas liturgy.
Media Contact:
Jennifer Pringle
480-965-8795
jennifer.pringle@asu.edu