This Week In Art/Culture/Entertainment
By John Swartz
So the first Christmas concert happens Saturday evening, November 30 and it snowed for the first time this season. Coincidence? I think not.
The Cellar Singers are doing Handel’s Messiah at St, James’ Anglican Church. They do it every other year. Of course, the other groups (Orillia Silver Band, Orillia Concert Band), often play it too, but they usually just do the Hallelujah Chorus, or as the unwashed might call it – the famous bit.
It’s interesting it was composed in only three weeks, but Handel almost immediately started to make changes to it before its first performance. He continued to make changes for many years depending on the skill of the orchestra players and particularly the solo singers.
Then Mozart got a hold of it. He made a new orchestration and arrangement of the thing, which is called an oratorio (like an opera without the dramatization and staging). His version is occasionally performed and recorded.
Everyone stands up during the Hallelujah Chorus. There are several theories why people do that, but nobody really knows why.
There are four soloists for the Cellars’s performance. Tenor Michael Colvin; he has performed all over North America and Europe. Soprano Jennifer Taverner last sang with the Cellars doing Brahms’s Requiem and before that Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Dona Nobis Pacem. Baritone Justin Welsh is from British Columbia and like the other three has done the Messiah before.
Mezzo soprano Autumn Debassige started as a member of the Cellar Singers and now has a career as a soloist. She’s been back many times to do solo roles.
Showtime is 7:30 p.m. and you can get tickets online, or at the door.
More Christmas Concerts/Events
The Orillia Concert Band is usually the first out of the gate, but as you just read, not this year, or last year. They are doing two concerts December 7 at St. Paul’s Centre.
An afternoon gig at 3:30 p.m. is for those with short attention spans, or developing patience skills – kids, I’m talking about kids, not voters. Usually the afternoon gig is a shortened version of the evening concert, but this year the menus are almost completely different. The Orillia Community Children’s Choir will be along as guests.
The evening concert features the Orillia Vocal Ensemble and soloist Alexandra Teske. She’ll be singing The Christmas Song. Sure, I can hear you thinking, they’re all Christmas songs, aren’t they? Well, yes they are, but this one is the one about roasting chestnuts on a fire, or technically by the fire, which takes longer
And by the way, kids are welcome at the evening concert and they get in free if they are younger than 5 just like they do for the afternoon concert. You can get tickets for either, or both, online.
The Orillia Silver Band has their Christmas Concert December 15 at the Opera House. Tickets for the 32 p.m. concert are available on online.
They’ll be playing a mix of tunes we know like Joy to the World, Fantasia on the Sussex Carol, O Holy Night and The Holly and the Ivy, and ones not frequently heard like The City of David, A Great and Mighty Wonder, and Noel Nouvelet.
Green Haven Shelter for Women has Dickens’s A Christmas Carol happening December 13 at St. Paul’s Centre. Sean Patrick will be providing the music and the readers have not been announced yet. You can get tickets online.
St. Paul’s is also the venue for A Skydiggers Christmas December 5. Daniel Greaves of The Watchmen is opening the concert. You can get tickets online.
Orillia Secondary School music students have a Christmas concert Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. at the school. Admission is by donation and proceeds are used for the music program. By the way, Matt Weidinger, who had an excellent concert a the Opera House last weekend, spent Wednesday working with students at the school.
The Orillia Vocal Ensemble has their concert December 21 at St. Paul’s centre. Their guests are the Orillia Community Children’s Choir. Their concerts are always admission by donation and function as fundraisers for local charities; this time it’s the Orillia Central Preschool who are beneficiaries.
The Shorts
- Couchiching Craft Brewing has Burke Erwin playing Nov. 30; Meredith Warboys is in Dec. 1; Gill Tillmann has a book singing event for her Pour the Wine Dec. 3; Stephan Bernard plays Dec. 6… Quayle’s Brewery has Chris Lemay playing Nov. 30; Brian Gardiner is in Dec. 1… the Hog ‘N Penny has a revolving cast of characters lead by Sean Patrick playing music every Sunday afternoon… Grate Northern is at the legion Nov. 30; tickets are $10 at the door.
(Images Supplied) Main: Soloists for Saturday night’s Cellar Singers Messiah concert; Justin Welsh, Jennifer Taverner, Michael Colvin and Autumn Debassige.
