This preview has been provided by the North Carolina Symphony.
The North Carolina Symphony has made a list, and checked it twice. The orchestra, led by Associate Conductor David Glover, will bring beloved holiday music to the stage of Meymandi Concert Hall Friday, Nov. 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 28 at 3 p.m. Also featured will be the North Carolina Master Chorale, soprano and narrator Lisa Jolley, soprano and Raleigh native Jeanne Jolly, and baritone Alfred E. Sturgis.
The state’s premier orchestra will present treasured celebrations of the season, including with “O Come All Ye Faithful,” It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Farewell of the Shepherds from L’Enfance du Christ, all sung by the North Carolina Master Chorale, “The Night Before Christmas,” narrated by Lisa Jolley, “O Holy Night,” performed by Jeanne Jolly,” “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch,” sung by Alfred E. Sturgis, selections from Frozen and “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” performed by Lisa Jolley and Jeanne Jolly, and much more. The program also features orchestral holiday classics such as Good King Wenceslas from “Holiday Music” and the Concert Suite from The Polar Express.
Concert-goers can sing familiar favorite songs along with the orchestra, including “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” “Silver Bells,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Frosty, the Snow Man,” “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” and “White Christmas.” There’s no need to remember all the words – song sheets will be provided! And, Santa will be in the lobby before each concert performance.
About the Artists
David Glover is the Associate Conductor for the North Carolina Symphony, where his duties include conducting education and evening concerts throughout the state as well as performances on the Pops Series and Young People’s Concerts. He has led numerous orchestras including the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, North Czech Philharmonic, Bulgarian Opera in Bourgas, and Hungarian Opera-Cluj. As a participant in numerous competitions, he placed in the semi-finals of the Bartok Opera Competition and was the youngest person to pass the preliminary round of the Cadeques Competition in 2008. He holds degrees from the University of Georgia and Boston University in violin performance, as well as a master’s degree in instrumental conducting from Indiana University.
The Resident Chorus of the North Carolina Symphony, the North Carolina Master Chorale has been performing choral-orchestral masterworks for more than 60 years. The Master Chorale boasts two renowned ensembles: a 170-voice symphonic choir and a 22-voice professional chamber choir that presents a diverse repertoire from the Renaissance to Contemporary. The Master Chorale regularly collaborates with symphony orchestras, opera companies, ballet and touring productions.
Lisa Jolley returns to sing with the North Carolina Symphony after making her debut at Summerfest this past June. Prior to moving to Raleigh with her family, she performed in the Broadway company of Hairspray, as well as other productions including The King Stag (Yale Repertory Theatre), Sweeney Todd (Paper Mill Playhouse), Don’t Quit Your Night Job and The Moth (Joe’s Pub); Nunsense, Anything Goes, and The King and I. Her solo musical improv show, Jolley on the Spot, has had critical acclaim in New York City, Los Angeles, and at the Chicago Improv Festival. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, she also teaches improv for the North Carolina Theatre Conservatory.
Raleigh native Jeanne Jolly grew up performing in musicals in the Triangle area and on the stage of Meymandi Concert Hall while attending Summer Theatre Art School at North Carolina Theatre. Classically trained, she holds a bachelor’s degree in voice from Western Carolina University and a master’s degree in vocal performance from New England Conservatory in Boston. Ms. Jolly relocated to Los Angeles and quickly began her music career as the featured vocalist for Grammy Award-winning trumpeter, Chris Botti. Wanting to nurture her love of songwriting and perform her own material, Ms. Jolly returned to her home state and has since released three albums featuring her own music.
Alfred E. Sturgis, baritone, is a highly sought after performer and conductor comfortable in a wide variety of musical experiences. He currently serves as Music Director of the North Carolina Master Chorale, the Carolina Ballet and the Tar River Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus. Mr. Sturgis has served as guest conductor for the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center, North Carolina Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, Carolina Chamber Orchestra, National Opera Company, Capital Opera, Long Leaf Opera and North Carolina Theatre. He has conducted orchestral and opera performances overseas in France, Bulgaria and China. Early in his career, he performed a number of roles in musical theater, opera and oratorio, in addition to touring and recording in Southern France with the Robert Shaw Festival Singers.
Tickets to the Holiday Pops concerts in Raleigh’s Meymandi Concert Hall range from $42 to $72. Student tickets are $33. Concert tickets at all performances are also available at the door one hour prior to concert start time.
Media Partners for Holiday Pops are Our State Magazine, WRAL.com/TV 5, FOX 50, and MIX 101.5 WRAL-FM. The Community Partner is the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.
Meymandi Concert Hall is located in the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. South St., in Raleigh.
BackPack Buddies Donations
Once again this year, the North Carolina Symphony is partnering with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle in its BackPack Buddies Program. Audience members are requested to bring food items to the Symphony Holiday Pops concerts on Thanksgiving weekend. The food they provide will fill a backpack with a weekend’s worth of healthy meals for local schoolchildren in need.
Items can also be dropped off at Symphony state headquarters, 3700 Glenwood Avenue, Suite 130, in Raleigh. Participants will receive a coupon for $20 off a pair of tickets for a concert of their choice in January 2016 (some restrictions apply). Go to www.ncsymphony.org/backpackbuddies to learn more.
About the North Carolina Symphony
Founded in 1932, the North Carolina Symphony gives more than 200 performances annually to adults and school children in more than 50 North Carolina counties. An entity of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the orchestra employs 66 professional musicians, under the artistic leadership of Music Director and Conductor Grant Llewellyn, Resident Conductor William Henry Curry, and Associate Conductor David Glover.
Based in downtown Raleigh’s spectacular Meymandi Concert Hall at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts and an outdoor summer venue at Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, N.C., the Symphony performs about 60 concerts annually in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary metropolitan area. It holds regular concert series in Fayetteville, New Bern, Southern Pines and Wilmington — as well as individual concerts in many other North Carolina communities throughout the year — and conducts one of the most extensive education programs of any U.S. orchestra.
Nov. 27-28 Concert/Event Listings:
North Carolina Symphony
“Holiday Pops”
David Glover, conductor
N.C. Master Chorale
Lisa Jolley, soprano and narrator
Jeanne Jolly, soprano
Alfred E. Sturgis, baritone
Friday, Nov. 27, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 28, 3 p.m.
Meymandi Concert Hall, Raleigh, NC
WILBERG: O Come All Ye Faithful
GOULD: Good King Wenceslas from “Holiday Music”
BASS: The Night Before Christmas
TRADITIONAL: O Little Town of Bethlehem
WILBERG: I Saw Three Ships
TRADITIONAL: The Twelve Days of Christmas
BERLIOZ: Farewell of the Shepherds from L’Enfance du Christ
ADAM: O Holy Night
TRADITIONAL: Ding Dong Merrily on High
SILVESTRI: Concert Suite from The Polar Express
ANDERSON-LOPEZ: For the First Time in Forever” from Frozen
ANDERSON-LOPEZ: Let It Go’ from Frozen
HAGUE: You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch fromHow the Grinch Stole Christmas
WYLE: It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
GRUBER: Silent Night
BLANE: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
ANDERSON: Sleigh Ride
NORRIS: Christmas “Pops” Sing-A-Long
