This preview has been provided by the North Carolina Symphony.
The North Carolina Symphony, led by Associate Conductor David Glover, will showcase holiday-themed music in a special concert on Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 3 p.m. The one-hour program features the orchestra performing orchestral versions of music from Frozen and The Polar Express, along with songs performed by soprano Lisa Jolley, child soprano Adele Baldina, and soprano and Raleigh native Jeanne Jolly.
Concert-goers can also 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!
The Symphony will also hold a MetLife Instrument Zoo prior to the concert at 2 p.m., and will host Snow Princesses who will visit with fans before the concert. Attendees are also encouraged to dress as their favorite Frozen character, or even come dressed in their jammies.
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.
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.
Adele “Ela” Baldina performed the solos of “Annie” with the North Carolina Symphony during the Summerfest concert An Evening of Broadway. Her other credits include Les Misérables and Disney’s The Little Mermaid at NC Theatre, as well as Carousel: A Concert at Theatre Raleigh. Ms. Baldina trains in musical theater at NC Theatre Conservatory, dances at North Carolina Dance Institute, plays piano and is bilingual in Russian.
Tickets to A Frozen Journey in Raleigh’s Meymandi Concert Hall are $23. 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 Frozen concert, or 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.
Media Partner is Our State. The Community Partner is Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.
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 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.
Headquartered 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. 25 Concert/Event Listings:
North Carolina Symphony
A Frozen Journey
David Glover, conductor
Lisa Jolley, soprano
Jeanne Jolly, soprano
Adele Baldina, child soprano
Wednesday, Nov. 25, 3 p.m.
Meymandi Concert Hall, Raleigh, NC
KAY: Variations on “Joy to the World”
ANDERSON-LOPEZ: Music from Frozen
GOULD: Good King Wenceslas from “Holiday Music”
TRADITIONAL: The Twelve Days of Christmas
SILVESTRI: Concert Suite from The Polar Express
PIERPONT/SOUSA: Jingle Bells Forever
NORRIS: Christmas “Pops” Sing-A-Long
ANDERSON-LOPEZ: For the First Time in Forever” from Frozen
ANDERSON-LOPEZ: Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” from Frozen
ANDERSON-LOPEZ: Let It Go’ from Frozen
