December 11, 2010 – “Christmas Cheer”

December 11 – 7:30pm

December 11, 2010 – A variety of short, tuneful pieces make up the program for the “Christmas Cheer!” concert to be presented by the Maple City Chamber Orchestra on Saturday, December 11 at 7:30 p.m. in Sauder Concert Hall at Goshen College.  Conducted by Brian Mast, the concert will last about an hour and is free of charge.

The most unusual pieces are “Christmas Overture” by S. Coleridge Taylor and “Dance of the Clowns” by the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

Taylor (1875-1912) was a promising English composer of African origin who died at the age of 37.  His best known work is the cantata, “Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast,” which indicates his interest in the culture of the United States, where he received an enthusiastic welcome when he visited in 1909.  Other neglected works by him have been revived in recent years.  His “Christmas Overture” is based on several familiar carols.

Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Dance of the Clowns” comes from one of his many operas, “The Snow Maiden” (1882), although this orchestration derives from an orchestral suite made from the opera in 1898.  Its driving rhythms reflect Russian folk music, which the composer turned to in his efforts to create a national music style.

Two pieces by Leroy Anderson (1908-1975), the American composer, have become classics in pops concerts at Christmas time.  “The Sleigh Ride” is one of his best known compositions, and “A Christmas Festival” is a skillful medley of Christmas tunes.  Both were composed in the 1950s.

From European baroque classics, the orchestra will perform the overture to Handel’s “The Messiah” (1742) and the meditative “Christmas Symphony” by G. M. Schiassi (1698-1754).

The concert will also include a rousing version of “The Carol of the Bells.”

The Maple City Chamber Orchestra, with 45 members, relies on individual and corporate financial contributions in order to present four free concerts each year.  It was founded in 1996 by Goshen native Michael Ruhling, now associate professor of Fine Arts/Music at the Rochester (NY) Institute of Technology. The orchestra offers an e-mail newsletter, through the Maple City Chamber Orchestra website.

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