'Dance, Romance, Mistletoe and Music' Festival Highlights Holidays at SU

SALISBURY, MD---Salisbury University adds a little twinkle to the holidays during its “Dance, Romance, Mistletoe and Music” festival December 6-12 in Holloway Hall Auditorium.

The Salisbury University Chorale inaugurates the festival 4:30 p.m. Sunday, December 6, with the holiday pieces “Hodie Christus Natus Est” with horn and “Behold the Star.” Conducted by Dr. William Folger, director of choral studies at SU, with pianist Susan Zimmer, other selections include “The Serpent,” “Daemon Irrepit Callidus,” “Musica, Die Ganz Lieblich Kunst,” “Awake the Harp,” “You Are the Music,” “Salmo 150, Psalm 150,” “El Hambo,” a medley of Israeli songs and the jazz a cappella number “Come Home.”

“Many of these selections deal with the art of music,” said Folger, noting that “The Serpent” is about a snake who wishes to sing. “Salmo 150” is about praising God with instruments, while “Musica” focuses on music as an art form.

The Salisbury Pops, under the direction of Lee Knier, presents its second annual holiday concert 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 8, with an engaging program of holiday favorites both traditional and contemporary. WBOC morning news anchor Jimmy Hoppa recites “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” as Santa arrives for visits with children in the audience. The SU a cappella group, Squawkapella, also performs. Selections include “Sleigh Ride” and guest soloist Natalie Brown singing “Santa Baby,” culminating with a holiday sing-along. Donations for the Salvation Army are accepted at the door.

“Dance, Romance, Mistletoe and Music” continues 7:30 p.m. Thursday, December 10, with a program by the SU Jazz Brazz Big Band. Besides jazz renditions of holiday classics including “Little Drummer Boy,” featuring Philip Thomas on drums, and “Good King Wenceslas,” the ensemble performs standards from Count Basie, the classic Freddie Hubbard composition “Red Clay.”

Conducted by Dr. Jerry Tabor, the program also features “Sugar Train” by Mike Dana,” the Latin “Trofeo de Bolos” by Craig Skeffington, “Count Bubba” by Gordon Goodwin and “Flugel Nights” by Mark Taylor, featuring Tom Davis on flugelhorn. Vocalists Trisha Benton and Natalie Brown round out the evening with selections such as “On the Street Where You Live” and “When I Fall in Love.”

The festival culminates with the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra’s Romantic Holiday Concert with a new start time of 7:30 p.m. Saturday, December 12, conducted by Dr. Jeffrey Schoyen. Guest violinist Anton Miller joins the SSO for this special performance.

Since giving his Carnegie Hall concerto debut with the New Chamber Orchestra of New York, American violinist Anton Miller has appeared throughout the United States and abroad as a soloist, chamber musician, recitalist and pedagogue. Miller gave the world premiere performance in Beijing of Xiogang Ye’s “Last Paradise,” which was recorded for broadcast in Asia and later released on CD. He has made several appearances in Brazil to tour Tchaikovsky, Sibelius and Brahms concertos with the Orchestra Sinfonica de Campinas.

Miller performs Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D Major with the SSO. Other pieces include the overture from Glinka’s opera Rusian and Ludmila, and Waldteufel’s “The Skater’s Waltz,” as well as dances by Strauss and pieces for solo violin and orchestra by Kreisler. Dr. Linda Cockey, chair of SU’s Department of Music, presents the pre-concert talk, “An Evening of Romantic Dance,” at 6:30 p.m. in the Great Hall of Holloway Hall.

Sponsored by Livingston, Hammond & Hill Wealth Management, LLC, admission to the concert is $20, $15 for seniors, $5 for children 12 and under. For tickets visit www.salisburysymphonyorchestra.org.

Sponsored by the Department of Music, admission to all other concerts is free and the public is invited. For more information call 410-543-6385 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu.