Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Rings In Holiday Season All Month Long

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is always proud to bring live music into the lives of its community, and this coming holiday season is no different. From Pops to Gospel and Celtic Woman, to the family-favorite Kid’s Christmas and traditional Messiah and “Christmas with the ASO,” there is a live holiday music experience for everyone. Seven holiday programs will make up this year’s 2012 Coca-Cola Holiday Concerts series, December 6–31, 2012.

Concerts:

• December 6, 7, and 8, 2012, 8:00 p.m. (four performances) — “Christmas with the ASO”: A traditional Atlanta Christmas event kicks off a month-long holiday extravaganza. For more than five decades, these classic concerts have featured the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus,  Morehouse College Glee Club, and Gwinnett Young Singers, conducted by Norman Mackenzie.
• December 9 and 16, 2012, 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. (four performances) — “Second Chance Christmas – ASO Kid’s Christmas”: A heartwarming fictional story that captures the magic and meaning of Christmas. The Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra is on their way to perform at Carnegie Hall when a bad winter storm leaves them stranded in Second Chance, a small mining town with a sad secret. But conductor Jere Flint and the Youth Orchestra experience the power of music as it transforms this small town and everyone in it. 
• December 13 and 15, 2012, 8:00 p.m.— Handel’s Messiah: Norman Mackenzie conducts the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Chorus in Handel’s Messiah and “Gloria” from Bach’s Mass in B minor.
• December 14 and 15, 2012, 8:00 p.m. — “Gospel Christmas”: The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the ASO Gospel Choir, conducted by Kirk Smith.  
• December 20, 2012, 8:00 p.m. – “Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration”: Celtic Woman returns to perform songs from its chart-topping Christmas albums and DVDs as well as new material. The group is comprised of five Irish women with a repertoire that ranges from traditional Celtic tunes to modern songs.
• December 21, 2012, 8:00 p.m. and 22, 2012, 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. (three performances) — “A Very Merry Holiday Pops”: Michael Krajewski conducts a variety show of popular holiday standards, with many special guests: Tony Award-winner and newly-inducted Disney Legend Jodi Benson, a jitterbugging Santa, a reveling drumline, and the Grady High School Chorus.
• December 31, 2012, 8:00 p.m. — “ASO New Year’s Eve”: Ring in the New Year at Symphony Hall with Principal Pops Conductor Michael Krajewski and the Orchestra as they are joined by singer and pianist Tony DeSare and his trio for an evening of great American standards, from Rodgers and Hammerstein to Porter and Prince.

All concerts will take place in Atlanta Symphony Hall at the Woodruff Arts Center. Additional concert details are available at www.aso.org. The Orchestra’s holiday concerts are made possible through an endowment from the Livingston Foundation in memory of Leslie Livingston Kellar.

Toys for Tots

This holiday season, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will once again join Atlanta’s annual Toys for Tots campaign. The mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November, and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra musicians, chorus, guest artists, staff, and concertgoers are encouraged to bring new, non-wrapped toys or books for children in need (up to 18 years of age) to any Atlanta Symphony Orchestra holiday concert. Donations will also be accepted online through the Orchestra’s website.

Community Holiday Performances By Atlanta Symphony Musicians

• Thursday, December 13, 2012, 11:30 a.m.: Members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra — Violinists Justin Bruns and Sou-Chun Su, violist, Cathy Lynn, and cellist Brad Ritchie — will perform a free chamber concert of holiday music in the upper lobby of the 1180 Peachtree building.

Additional community holiday performances will be announced.

Wells Fargo Arts Vibe Teen Program Holiday Event

• Friday, December 21, 2012, 6:00 p.m.: The Arts Vibe Teen Council will host a casual social gathering of teens in the 1280 Gallery in the Memorial Arts Building at the Woodruff Arts Center. Activities will include live holiday music and festive art projects. A small number of tickets to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s “A Very Merry Holiday Pops” and the Alliance Theatre’s “A Christmas Carol” will be available to teens at a discounted price. For more information about Arts Vibe, visit artsvibe.com.

- The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra contributed to this report