This Week In Art/Culture/Entertainment
By John Swartz
St. Paul’s Centre is the venue for the annual Christmas Prelude concert Saturday December 6 at 7:30 p.m. The Orillia Concert Band’s first of the season concert also includes the Orillia Vocal Ensemble’s participation. You can get tickets online or at the door.
There are other Christmas concerts/events ahead. The Orillia Vocal Ensemble has their Christmas concert December 14 at 4 p.m. at St. Paul’s Centre. They will be joined by the Orillia Community Children’s Choir. Admission is by donation.
Green Haven Shelter For Women’s annual reading of A Christmas Carol is happening December 18 at the Opera House. The performers are Aurora Browne, Christy Bruce, Tereesa Pavlinek, Naomi Snieckus, and Jane van de Graff, with Bruce Pirrie directing. Get tickets online.
The Cellar Singers are doing two pieces, Fantasia on Christmas by Ralph Vaughn Williams and Messe de Minuit pour Noel by Marc-Antoine Charpentier at St. James’ Anglican Church December 20. You can get tickets online.
And the 4th Street Jazz Project has a concert December 21 at the Salvation Army Citadel. The Salvation Army band will also be performing. This concert will include some off-season tunes as well as the jingly kind.
Review
There was a concert last Wednesday night at the opera House that included Christmas music, but not enough to unthrone the OCB from their season starting status.
Brassworks played the first half of Arts Orillia’s Let It Snow show. First of all, people should be mindful of the time of year. Calling your event Let It Snow invites emcee’s to yuk it up about the weather. While Curtis Metcalf was making light of it, it did start to snow and some of us really don’t want any more of that until December 24. OK, we’ll give for a light dusting on the remaining Friday and Saturdays for the downtown merchants because a tiny bit of snow in the air does help sales this time of year. But no more, please.
Of course the first tune Brassworks played was a big band jazz arrangement of Let It Snow. The band started out with only two trumpets and two trombones plus a rhythm section, instead of the usual traffic jam of musicians on stage.
They were joined on the next tune by 4 sax players from the 4th Street Jazz Project and Alex Dean. Thinking back to the last concert this crew did I have to say the saxes are very smooth and tight. They played Christmas Waltz, which Alex said he was on the recording of it with Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass. When the band started playing I couldn’t help create Lawrence Welk in my head saying, “and now, a Waltz in Four – ah one, ana two, ana three , ana go.’ Of course waltzes, but not this one, are in three.
Christina Bosco did a little singing on I Don’t Know how To Love Him and later on, with O Holy Night. When I say a little singing, I mean exactly the opposite. The first we heard when MAT did Jesus Christ Superstar.
The program stepped away from music performance as the band turned into stage hands to move chairs and music stands out of the way so Audrey Buchanan could dance to Electricity from the movie Billy Elliot.
Throughout the first half one of the sax chairs was occupied by Ben Basso who is a student at Orillia Secondary School. In the second half, he was also part of the band made up of students from all three high schools which played some tunes, as did a choir of students from the schools. Alex Dean spent the afternoon working with the band kids and Dylan Bell worked with the choir. I am continuing to be impressed by the quality of musicianship of the kids, who don’t seem to be afraid to tackle some harder to play charts.
I See Dots
Red Dot Gallery opened in the Orillia Square Mall last Tuesday. Five artists, Raune-lea Marshall, Deby Melillo Mike Bailey, Linda Gidora and Norman Robert Catchpole have their stuff hanging around, and layin’ about. They had a good sized turnout for opening day, and sold a few paintings before the first hour was up, and while I was there.
The Return Of…
The Orillia Museum has a couple things happening. First, they are having a wearable art show in March. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 19.
Fashion Forward 2026, is open to artists, designers, and makers to transform objects, stories, and histories into wearable works of art. The theme is From Artefact to Eco-Act. The idea is to draw inspiration from artefacts in OMAH’s permanent collection while embracing sustainable, found, and repurposed materials. Give the museum a call, 705 -326-2159 for details how to take part.
They also will be returning about 100 aretefacts from the collection to the Chippewas of Rama over the next few months.
The Shorts
- The annual Mariposa Folk Festival Gospel and Blues concert with Lance Anderson leading the band is Feb. 21 at the Opera House. The band members this time around are: Garnetta Cromwell, Gavin Hope, Wade O. Brown, Mackenzie Jordan, Steve Pelletier and Everton White. You can get tickets online. And tickets for the summer festival are on sale at last year’s prices. Se the list of ticket combos here.
- Orillia Secondary School art students have a show and silent auction happening at the school Dec. 11 from 6 to 8 p.m.
- The Orillia Concert Association has season tickets on sale (still only $90) and their lineup is: Terry Lim And Friends Feb. 22, Daniel Vnukowski March 22 and The Brooks, Ronai, Teske Trio May 3. All concerts are at 2:30 p.m. You can get the season tickets online.
- OMAH has the annual Carmichael landscape show, Tradition Transformed, up to see (it’s great), they also have John Gould: Travels Of The Mind And Body, and Tracing Places: Advertising In Orillia… Peter Street Fine Arts the annual 6×6 Show will be up all of December
- Quayle’s Brewery has Chris Lemay playing Dec. 6; and Kyle Moning Dec. 7; Cam Galloway is in Dec. 11; Gen Cyr Dec. 12 and Upbeat Groove Dec. 13 … the Hog ‘N Penny has No Great Mischief playing Dec. 6; an afternoon jam session every Sunday with Sean Patrick and others and Taylor Hofner at 4 p.m. Nov.30 … the ANAF club has Flannery and Friends playing Dec. 6 and a jam on Sunday at 2 p.m.… Cole Mendez, Jacob Thompson, Josh Daniel, Mat Fantini of The Free Label Have a small concert happening Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Alleycats Music (tickets)… The Sunshine Ukulele Network has a Christmas Jam happening Dec. 11 at the Orillia Public Library.
(Photos by Swartz – SUNonline/Orillia and Images Supplied)
