Concert Calendar, December 2009

Midday Music's events list for December. You probably know of additional holiday concerts at schools and places of worship near you; here we just hit some highlights, in as close to chronological order as possible. Hope you find some great events in your neck of the woods. Further links and details to be added shortly.

December 3-5

  • Madrigal Dinners, as presented annually by the music department of Covenant College, Lookout Mountain. The madrigal dinner was a 16th century pre-Christmas celebration and feast given by the wealthy for their court and friends.

At Symphony Hall, Atlanta this weekend:

  • December 3 & 5: Handel’s Messiah. Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chamber Chorus; Norman MacKenzie, conductor
  • December 4 & 5: ASO Gospel Christmas. Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Gospel Choir; Chelsea Tipton II, conductor.
Friday, December 4

  • Macon State College Chamber Singers present "Gloria," featuring Vivaldi and Rutter at 7:30 p.m., Riverside United Methodist Church, Macon. Guests: the Colony IV Brass, soprano Melanie Cross-Buckner and mezzo-soprano Michelle DeBruyn. Free. 478.471.5773.

December 4-5

  • A Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols featuring the Mercer Singers, with University organist Robert Parris, conducted by Stanley Roberts. 7:30 p.m., Newton Chapel, Mercer University, Macon. 478.301.5751.

December 4-6

  • winterfest2009— a Visual & Performing Arts Festival at RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, Columbus. Paintings, pottery, jewelry, woodwork and more. Free admission to the Visual Arts Festival. Artists’ booths will be featured on the orchestra and mezzanine levels of RiverCenter’s lobby with student art on the balcony level. In addition, two ticketed events will be held in the Bill Heard Theatre: Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, “The Holiday Tour,” Friday, December 4, and pianist Jim Brickman, “Beautiful World Christmas,” Saturday, December 5.

December 4 & 6

  • Aiken Choral Society’s 2009 Winter Concert. Friday at 7:30, Sunday at 3:00, Cornerstone Baptist Church, Aiken, SC. Vivaldi's Gloria, sacred and secular carols and a surprise guest performance. Directed by Maureen Simpson.
Ongoing shows
  • December 4-20: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Atlanta Lyric Theatre, Atlanta.
  • December 4-23: Peter Pan. Springer Opera House, Columbus.

Saturday, December 5

  • Feaste of Caroles. Rome Symphony Orchestra, Shorter College Chorale & Chorus. Handel’s “Messiah” (Christmas portion), Corelli’s Christmas Concerto, Vaughan Williams’ Greensleeves. Rome City Auditorium, 7:30.
  • Valdosta Symphony with soprano Tamara Hardesty and conductor Howard Hsu at Valdosta State University’s Whitehead Auditorium. “The Human Voice”: Mozart Exsultate Jubilate, Mahler Symphony No. 4.
  • Organist Joyce Jones from Baylor University plays Widor, Vivaldi, Bach, Franck, Dupre, Langlais, Wright and more, including seasonal music. Joyce Jones is professor of organ at BaylorUniversity. Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow.

December 5-6

  • Gala Holiday Concert presented by the Georgia State University School of Music. http://www.rialtocenter.org. Featuring the Georgia State University Symphony Orchestra, Choruses and Jazz Band, as well as community ensembles, performing traditional holiday favorites and music with an international twist. Ellington, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Janowski, Handel and Holst, a world premiere by Nickitas Demos, a Hebrew song of peace, Handel’s “Hallelujah” Chorus and an audience sing-along. Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m., Rialto Center, Atlanta. Free parking.

Sunday, December 6

  • The Christmas Story as done by the Waverly Consort: The Christmas Story. A presentation of seasonal music originally performed in the cathedrals of Europe during the Middle Ages. In the spirit and pageantry of medieval church dramas and mystery plays, the Waverly Consort recounts the events of Christmas in a celebration of ritual drama and song. UGA Performing Arts Center, Athens.
  • In the Macon area, a mother-daughter piano concert with Margery McDuffie Whatley and Susan McDuffie. 5 p.m., Vineville United Methodist Church. Free.

This week at Symphony Hall, Atlanta:

  • December 6 & 13: ASO Kids’ Christmas. Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra; JereFlint, conductor; Lee Harper Dancers.
  • December 10-12: Christmas with the ASO. Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus;Morehouse College Glee Club; Gwinnett Young Singers. Norman MacKenzie, conductor.

Monday, December 7

  • The Macon Concert Association presents mezzo-soprano Magdalena Wor in concert, 7:30 p.m., Wesleyan College's Burden Parlor, Olive Swann Porter Building.

Tuesday, December 8

December 9-13

Thursday, December 10

  • A Very CSO Christmas. Columbus Symphony Orchestra. George Del Gobbo, conductor. 6:30 Santa arrives, 7:30 concert begins. Bill Heard Theatre, RiverCenter, Columbus.
  • Christmas with the LSO. LaGrange Symphony Orchestra, with guests the LaGrange College Women’s Chorus and the Long Cane Middle School Chorus. Patricio Cobos will lead the orchestra in a mix of secular and spiritual selections, including Anderson, Rutter and others. 7:30, Callaway Auditorium, LaGrange College, LaGrange.

Friday, December 11

  • Home for the Holidays, a Symphony Orchestra Augusta pops concert. Holiday and Broadway favorites with Broadway stars Jan Horvath and Dough LaBrecque, the Augusta Children's Choral, the ASU Home for the Holidays Chorus and Maestro Z Kuwahara. Bell Auditorium, Augusta, 7:30.
  • Golden Bells of Atlanta. Falany Performing Arts Center, Reinhardt College, Waleska.

This weekend at Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow:

  • December 11: Spivey Hall Young Artists, Spivey Hall Children’s Choir
  • December 12-13: Spivey Hall Children’s Choir, Spivey Hall Tour Choir
  • December 12: Big Band Christmas with Joe Gransden & Jazz Orchestra Atlanta
  • December 13: The Atlanta Singers

December 11-12

  • 17th Annual Atlanta Celtic Christmas Concert, James Flannery, host. Banjo virtuoso Alison Brown, Appalachian hipsters Leah and Chloe Smith (R.I.S.E.), string player and percussionist Joe Craven, and Irish classical pianist J. J. Sheridan. Saturday 8:00, Sunday 2:30. Schwartz Center, Emory University, Atlanta.

Ongoing shows

  • December 10-23: The Springer Opera House, Columbus, presents community favorite A Tuna Christmas.
  • December 11-27: The Atlanta Ballet's Nutcracker. Fox Theatre, Atlanta. Three weeks only. Live orchestra opening week only.
  • December 13-23: Amahl and the Night Visitors. Gian Carlo Menotti’s haunting and vivid musical work captures the humble life of a crippled child and his impoverished mother, and one mesmerizing evening when traveling magi from the East mysteriously seek rest with them. Balzer Theatre at Herren’s, Atlanta.

Saturday, December 12

  • Handel’s Messiah. Along with the Augusta Choral Society will be soloists Melanie Larsen, Brittnee Siemon, John Daniecki and Bryan Franklin; the Augusta Choral Society Orchestra; organist Keith Shafer; and artistic director and conductor, Dr. J. Porter Stokes. 706-826-4713. 7:30 p.m., Saint Paul's Church, downtown Augusta.
  • Ocmulgee Symphony Orchestra.

Sunday, December 13

  • Albany State University Community “Messiah” Sing, featuring area soloists and members of the Albany Symphony. 4 p.m., ACAD Auditorium, ASU campus, Albany. Free.

Monday, December 14

  • The Augusta Museum of History hosts the Augusta Collegium Musicum in the Thirteenth Annual Concert of Holiday Music at 7:30 in the Museum’s Rotunda. Twenty singers offer Christmas music from the 13th-16th centuries as well as modern day carols and “A Simple Alleluia” by Kenton Coe. Limited seating; always sells out.

Friday, December 18

  • A Christmas Carol. The Grand Opera House, Macon.
  • The Amelia Piano Trio, proteges of the late great violinist Isaac Stern and winners of an ASCAP programming award, performs trios by Shostakovich (No. 1 in C minor), Beethoven (Op. 1/3 in C minor) and Chopin (G minor, Op. 8). Presented at the Maxwell Theatre, Augusta State University, by the Harry Jacobs Chamber Music Society.

December 18 & 19

  • A Very Merry Holiday Pops! Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Michael Krajewski, conductor; Lassiter High School and Walton High School Choruses.

December 20-21

  • A Cantus Christmas 2009 - 10th Anniversary Celebration Concert: Message of the Season—Music of the Masters. This local professional chorus now offers its annual program not once but twice, this time with a larger chorus, a 40 piece orchestra, and soprano soloist Christina Howell. The Christmas story is told through classical music and audience carols without narration or applause. This year’s performance features brief works by Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Beethoven, Handel, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Schumann, Haydn, Rachmaninoff, Vaughan Williams, Britten, Fauré, Wolf, Berlioz, Respighi, Bizet, Schütz, Lasso, Byrd and others. The audience will join in in four well-known carols. 7:30 each evening, RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, Legacy Hall, Columbus.

Tuesday, December 29

Thursday, December 31
  • ASO New Year’s Eve. Atlanta Symphony; Michael Krajewski, conductor; Sylvia McNair, soprano.

Posted by Sarah Zaslaw at 11:25 AM