The Andrews University Department of Music will host its Christmas Extravaganza, with performances by the University Singers and Chorale, Andrews University Symphony Orchestra and Andrews University Wind Symphony on Dec. 7 and Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Howard Performing Arts Center.
The program will begin with the singers, who will perform the carol “Patapan” by French composer Bernard de la Monnoye which tells the story of the shepherds who visited baby Jesus at his birth. The song replicates the sounds of the instruments used to celebrate the birth of the king.
Aiyana Ybarra (freshman, music education) said, “I really like ‘Patapan’ because of the challenges it brings through diction and musicality; there's a lot of small details in order to bring the piece to life. … It’s fun to be more creative and give a new interpretation to an old Christmas classic.”
Later in the program, the chorale and symphony orchestra will combine for a song titled “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.” This symphonic fairy tale is a musical narration of the poem by Clement Clark Moore. The audience will be able to hear the sounds of reindeer landing on the roof, Santa coming down the chimney and the jolly sound of Santa’s “Ho! Ho! Ho!” portrayed through the vocalists’ and musicians’ interpretation of this piece.
During the brief intermission, participants will be able to head to the lobby to enjoy refreshments and listen to Christmas tunes played by the Andrews University String Quartet before heading back to their seats.
After intermission, the symphony orchestra will collaborate with the Stevensville Dance Arts Studio to bring Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker Suite,” Op. 71a, to life. More than a dozen ballet dancers, ages 8-17, will be participating in full costume. A handful of dances from the complete work have been selected for the ballet dancers to perform. Each of the movements is a favorite from the full work that many in the audience will recognize, a mosaic of the fairy tale.
String bassist Jonathan Pelote (freshman, theology) said the third movement of “The Nutcracker Suite,” “Danse Russe,” is his favorite because “the basses actually play more than one note!”
“I doubt that many people in the community right here in Berrien Springs have been to a ballet,” Marc Elysee, conductor of the symphony orchestra, said. “For the dancers, too, it’s very interesting for them because they don’t always get to perform with a live orchestra.”
This will be a unique experience for performers and the audience alike and will help to cultivate a community extending beyond the campus of Andrews University.
The final group to perform will be the wind symphony. Isaiah Scaffidi (sophomore, mechanical engineering), a baritone saxophonist in the ensemble, said that the piece “Holiday Delight” arranged by Caleb Hammer is what he is most looking forward to: “There’s a lot of time signature changes, special rhythms and syncopations, so it will be fun for us to show off our skills.”
Another piece, “Medieval Christmas Fantasy,” arranged by Charles Torian, is a modern rendition of five Christmas carols from the 13th to the 16th century. This piece starts off with a large percussion solo featuring the bass drums, tambourines and the wood block. Later on, the flutes take on a solo for what would have traditionally been the pan flute and the bassoon has a featured part.
The wind symphony will then play “Sleigh Ride” by Leroy Anderson, a holiday classic.
“We play it every single year, it’s a staple piece that everyone loves to hear,” Scaffidi said. “It’s become synonymous with Wind Ensembles and Christmastime.”
When Anderson composed this piece, his goal was not to create a Christmas piece. He simply wanted to convey the beauty of winter, but as the piece grew in popularity, people began to perform it around Christmas and the association stuck.
In addition to performing at the Christmas Extravaganza on Dec. 7, the wind symphony will also perform that morning at Pioneer Memorial church for both the 9 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. services.
At this year’s annual Christmas concert, Andrews’ three music ensembles will combine instead of each performing separate concerts. In the past, Elysee said, doing three separate concerts has put “a lot of strain on the students, especially because that’s the time also where people have end of the year projects and they prepare for exams.”
Many students also participate in more than one ensemble, making their time commitment even greater. Because of the ensembles’ combined performance, the audience will get a snapshot of the work each group has put in over the semester for the price of one ticket instead of three.
Tickets can be purchased online or in person at the Howard Performing Arts Center.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.