TSO celebrates Christmas at the Perot next Sunday
Feel the spirit of the season when Texarkana Symphony Orchestra presents Christmas at the P erot at 4 p .m. Sunday, Dec. 1 5.
This program features traditional Christmas selections in the f irst half and pops selections in the sec ond half. The TSO’s Celebrity Conductor Competition winner will join the orchestra on the P erot Theatre stage to lead a rendition of “Sleigh Ride.”
Also joining the TSO are the Texarkana Youth Symphony Or chestra, Pleas ant Gr ove High School Show stoppers, Texarkana R egional Chorale, Texarkana College Choir , Arkansas High School Choir and Santa Claus himself. It’s a big holiday show with many participants.
Conductor Marc-André Bougie said TSO will perform a side-b y-side with T YSO f or f our selections. “That’s new. We’ve done this before, but never for Christmas,” Bougie said, noting it will be e xciting to show what the y oung players can do at this concert.
“This is probably one of our most popular concerts, and everybody can see w hat we do,” Bougie said.
For the traditional portion of the TSO concert, expect to hear selections b y Johann Strauss Jr. (such as the Emper or waltzes), plus Ler oy Anderson’s “A Christmas Festival,” a suite from Jerome Malek’s “T he Season of J oy,” a selection from “L’Arlésienne” by Georges Bizet and “Christmas Lullaby” by John Rutter.
The array of pops choices includes “A Charlie Brown Christmas, ” “I t’s the M ost Wonderful Time of the Y ear,” “Here Comes Santa Claus” and more. T he concert closes with “A Merry Christmas S ing-Along,” a number w here the whole theater can p articipate. There’s also “A Caribbean Sleigh Ride.”
“It’s a Caribbean adaptation of ‘J ingle Bells,’” Bougie said. The Pleasant Grove Showstoppers will also p articipate in the sec ond half of the show.
The c elebrity conductor winner will be brought on stag e lat e in the c oncert t o lead TSO f or one number . Competitors will all
practice once with the orchestra prior to this night. Conducting takes some getting used to, Bougie explains.
“The sound always comes at you a split second behind because people react to you. That’s the thing about the business,” he said.
The choir has 75 singers. “The orchestra’s big, too, about 50 players, so it’s a lot of people on stage,” Bougie said, calling this production a huge extravaganza.
He’s pleased the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra has developed a unique program such as this.
“This is a homemade program in the sense that we’ve chosen the selection. We’ve worked with local entities in partnership to make this happen. It’s truly a unique, local product,” Bougie said. “And I say this really with pride because what we’re offering is catered directly to our audience, and I think the quality is second to none. Anyone who shows up will have a great time.”
He’s looking forward to playing some happy music to put us in the holiday spirit.
“I hope that people in Texarkana will make this the kickoff of their holiday season,” Bougie said, calling it “the right way to get the holiday started.”
There will be a short intermission during the concert.
(Tickets are $52, $44 and $29. Discounts are available for students and children. Call the Perot box office for tickets at 903-792-4992 or visit TexarkanaSymphony.org.)