‘A Gospel Christmas’ comes to the Bowmer for three performances Dec. 13-15
By Jim Flint for Ashland.news
Ashland is set to jingle all the way into the holiday season with a flurry of festive concerts starting this week, designed to bring joy, warmth and a dash of musical magic to the Rogue Valley.
From soaring symphonic arrangements and merry choral harmonies to the uplifting, timeless music of Handel’s “Messiah” and a lineup of concerts at SOU, there’s a tune for every holiday mood.
Prepare to be dazzled.
Rogue Valley Symphony
RVS kicks off its holiday season with a pre-Thanksgiving concert in its Masterworks series, featuring Brahms’ Symphony No. 1, Respighi’s “The Birds,” and Vaughan Williams’ “The Lark Ascending.”
Dates and times: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22, and 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, in Ashland; 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24, in Grants Pass.
RVS concertmaster Carla Ecker will be featured on solo violin for the Williams piece.
“She is a fabulous musician who never ceases to amaze me,” said Martin Majkut, RVS music director.
With “The Lark Ascending” on the program, Majkut thought adding a few more birds was the right thing to do.
“Respighi searched the archives for bird-related music from the 17th and 18th centuries,” Majkut said. “He then took these pieces, representing a dove, a hen, a nightingale and a cuckoo, and dressed them in modern orchestral clothes. It’s fun!”
Majkut said Brahms took 21 years to write his first symphony, an homage to the “Ode to Joy.” Ecker will be featured on the piece as well.
“A Gospel Christmas” is the RVS holiday show, with three performances set for OSF’s Bowmer Theatre.
Dates and times: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13; 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14; and 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15.
Through arrangements with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the symphony is presenting its second annual holiday concert, this year featuring the award-winning Florida State University Gospel Choir and its former director, singer-actor Marques J. Ruff. The 20-voice choir is traveling with its own rhythm section.
“This program will raise the roof of the Bowmer Theatre,” Majkut said. “The tunes are as irresistible as they are deeply touching.”
RVS operations manager Asadour Santourian said the audience can look forward to gospel-infused twists on some familiar carols.
“And a special medley of holiday favorites, arranged as a new orchestral overture, will open the second half of the show,” Santourian said.
For more information, venue addresses, and to purchase tickets, go to rvsymphony.org.
Jefferson Baroque Orchestra
A beloved holiday tradition returns to the Jefferson Baroque Orchestra in its 31st season, now under the baton of new Artistic Director Abigail Mace.
Selections from Handel’s “Messiah” form the centerpiece of the program, with Handel’s Coronation Anthem No. 2, “Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened,” performed as the opener for the two December concerts.
Dates and times: 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 140 N. Oakdale Ave., Medford; and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, at First United Methodist Church, 175 N. Main St., Ashland.
“Audiences will get to hear the entire Part 1 of the ‘Messiah’ plus two very popular arias from later in the work,” conductor Mace said. “The concert will conclude with an audience sing-along of the famous ‘Hallelujah’ chorus.”
Mace is excited to be sharing the music much as it would have been presented in Handel’s time, following the musical customs of the Baroque period. Those touches include how the performers are placed on stage, the type of strings the violins use, the number of soloists and the tuning system.
Mace, a harpsichordist, will conduct from the keyboard.
“This is how Handel would have led the earliest performance,” she said. “It will be a unique opportunity to hear the work similarly to the way audiences heard it in 1741.”
For more information and to purchase tickets, go to jeffersonbaroque.org.
Rogue Valley Symphonic Band
RVSB will celebrate the season when it performs “Harmonies for the Holidays” under the direction of new conductor Alexander Gonzalez.
Date and time: 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, at at the SOU Music Recital Hall, 450 S. Mountain Ave., Ashland.
“It will surely be a special one,” Gonzalez said. “There will be some fan favorites, but a highlight will be David Lovrien’s medley of Christmas tunes called ‘Minor Alterations.’ This barn burner of a work alters very familiar melodies that were originally set in a major key and turns them into minors. It will be fun for audiences to see how quickly they can guess which works are being played.”
Tickets are not necessary. Donations will be accepted at the door.
Siskiyou Singers
The Rogue Valley’s Siskiyou Singers presents “Sweet Songs of the Season: A Delightful Holiday Celebration for the Whole Family” at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, in the Southern Oregon University Music Recital Hall, 450 S. Mountain Ave. The concert is free to the public. More information at siskiyousingers.org.
Southern Oregon Repertory Singers
Rep Singers’ holiday program traditionally has something for everybody: old and new, sacred and secular, familiar and brand new. “All the Stars Looked Down” is no exception.
An extra concert date in Medford is planned this season, a first for the 70-voice choir under the direction of Paul French.
Dates and times: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20, at United Church of Christ, 1801 E. Jackson St., Medford; 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 21-22, at the SOU Music Recital Hall.
Guest instrumentalists will join the choir, singing music from around the world. Among the numbers will be new arrangements of traditional carols, an African noel, a jubilant Israeli new year’s song, a lullaby and pieces by John Rutter, Eric Whitacre and resident composer Jodi French.
“The concert will focus on images of peace and joy,” Paul French said, “with guest artists Sherril Wood on flute and Abigail Wilensky on violin. I hope it will bring our audiences moments of calm, beauty and holiday cheer.”
Patrons who want to attend the Medford concert are advised to purchase tickets early. The space is small and intimate, with limited seating.
For more information and to purchase tickets, go to repsingers.org.
Southern Oregon University
Several SOU music and arts groups have scheduled concerts for the holiday season. Following is a lineup of events for the next two months. All performances are at the SOU Music Recital Hall, unless otherwise noted.
Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 7:30 p.m., “Full Circle,” by the SOU percussion ensembles, will be directed by Terry Longshore.
Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 7:30 p.m., “Israeli Chamber Project,” part of the Chamber Music Concerts season.
Thursday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m., “The United States v. We the People,” presented by the SOU chamber and concert choirs, directed by Jerron Jorgensen.
7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6, at pianist Krystian Tkaczewski, a Polish virtuoso, presented by the Tutunov Piano Series, with livestreaming available.
For more information and to purchase tickets, go to oca.sou.edu.
Reach writer Jim Flint at [email protected].
Nov. 19: Added Siskiyou Singers event.
