Edmonds Center for the Arts will ring with music during the next three days as the Sno-King Community Chorale and the Cascade Symphony Orchestra, two of south Snohomish County’s major performing arts groups, present their annual Christmas concerts.
Sno-King, under the direction of Frank DeMiero, offers programs Saturday afternoon and evening. With solos and ensembles, the chorale’s concert version of “Bah Humbug!” the musical about Ebenezer Scrooge (a new version of the old Dickens’ classi) is full of fun for families.
Cascade Symphony offers an evening pops concert Sunday and Monday.
The orchestra’s Christmas production features guest conductor Robert Collins and renowned euphonium soloist Adam Frey playing several holiday pieces especially arranged for his instrument.
Frey, a previous soloist with CSO and an audience favorite, is one of the elite brass soloists in the world. He travels the globe sharing his talents as a performer and teacher. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Frey trained at the University of Georgia and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. Frey has more than 90 works composed for or specifically arranged for him.
He has soloed with the Boston Pops, Cheju Symphony Orchestra in South Korea, the Vaasa Symphony Orchestra of Finland, Atlanta Philharmonic and many others. He also performs regularly with wind bands and brass bands in the Netherlands, Wales, Switzerland, Singapore, Germany and Hong Kong.
Also on the program will be the March from “Babes in Toyland” by Victor Herbert and “Jazz Legato,” “Bugler’s Holiday” and “Christmas Festival” by Leroy Anderson, the Seletsky/Marcus “Channuka Medley,” with its memorable clarinet solo, and will conclude with the rousing “Hallelujah” chorus from Handel’s “Messiah.”
Cascade Symphony’s conductor Michael Miropolsky is on a brief hiatus from the podium, and orchestra leaders say the group is fortunate to have Bobby Collins serve in his stead for two concerts this season.
Collins has conducted a variety of ensembles including symphony, chamber, and pit orchestras, as well as contemporary music ensembles ranging from beginning to professional level. He currently serves as conductor of The Sound Ensemble. In 2013 he made his international debut in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he conducted the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic as a prize winner of the Fifth International Master Class in Orchestral Conducting. Collins also will conduct the CSO concert on Jan. 18, featuring Duane Hulbert performing the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto.
Miropolsky will return for the “Peter and the Wolf” Children’s Concert on Feb. 20. The rest of the season includes Eric Han performing the Dvorak Cello Concerto on March 14, the CSO Ensemble Concert on April 17, and the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony with soloist Kimberly Giordano on May 9.
Because CSO concerts routinely sell out, patrons are asked to return any tickets they will not use to the ECA box office. Cascade Symphony’s season tickets are still available. Prices are $92 for adults and $76 for seniors.
Sno-King Community Chorale’s season continues on March 19 with a concert version of the musical “Phantom of the Opera” and on June 11 with a concert version of the musical “Carousel.”
If you go
“Bah Humbug!”: Sno-King Community Chorale will perform its annual “Holiday Magic” concert at 3 and 7 p.m. Dec. 12 at Edmonds Center for the Arts, 410 Fourth Ave. N., Edmonds. Tickets are $10 to $20 and are available at www.edmondscenterforthearts.org.
Holiday Pops: Cascade Symphony Orchestra performs at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13 and 14, Edmonds Center for the Arts, 410 Fourth Ave. N. For ticket information, go to www.edmondscenterforthearts.org. Tickets are adults, $27; seniors, $22; students, $15; children, $10. KING-FM’s Dave Beck offers a pre-concert lecture at 6:30 p.m.
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