Two choral groups aid symphony’s holiday fare

Minimal theatrics in the first performance of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Home for the Holidays concert highlighted upbeat musical presentations by the orchestra and the two choral groups that accompanied it.

The orchestra gave its first concert in the 2017-18 Acxiom Pops! Live season Friday night. The concert also featured the Voices of Central Arkansas children’s choir and Praeclara, a professional adult chorus.

The concert lasted about two hours, including an intermission, and included a wide variety of musical selections and unique arrangements of a few classic holiday tunes. This is one of the largest performances of the year, with 75-80 people onstage at a time.

Conductor Phillip Mann’s approach to the concert was a shift from last year’s, which included more skits between songs. This performance focused on the music; conversations between sets were primarily focused on the arrangements or musicians.

The orchestra performed a big band version of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker

arranged by Duke Ellington, which kept the show fast-paced.

One of the few traditional orchestral pieces was “Winter” from Antonio Vivaldi’s

although Kiril Laskarov gave the song a rock ‘n’ roll twist with his solo on the electric violin.

Soloist Stephanie Smittle sang “Blue Christmas,” creating a jazz-opera hybrid sound. Kelly Singer, a soloist from Little Rock, followed with “Feliz Navidad.” The youngest soloist of the night, 12-year-old Melody Small, sang “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.”

In an attempt to keep the show fresh for repeat attenders, the group played an alternative rendition of “O Holy Night,” which allowed the orchestra to shine but muffled traditional climactic moments for the chorus.

Additional performances will take place today and Sunday. More information is available at arkansassymphony. org/pops.

The Acxiom Pops! Live series will have four more concert series through May, featuring film music, Broadway, rock ‘n’ roll and jazz.