DuPage Symphony Orchestra presents Holly Jolly Harmonies on Sunday, December 17

This Christmas concert program will take place on Sunday, December 17, at 2 pm and 4 pm at Wentz Concert Hall in Naperville.

There is a special time of the year that brings hope and joy to each of us. It brings light into the eyes of those who suffer, it brings love to broken hearts, and it gives warmth to those who need it. Miracles happen during that wonderful time, and I believe that this Christmas season will bring joy, peace, and hope to everyone.

The miracle of music lifts us above our everyday problems and worries. It helps us go through life with a light and happy heart. DuPage Symphony Orchestra is happy to lift everyone up with its wonderful holiday concert program called Holly Jolly Harmonies that will take place at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 17 at Wentz Concert Hall in Naperville.

The orchestra will present a nice combination of lighthearted holiday fare and more distinguished holiday works, that will create a festive and happy atmosphere and mood.

“Holly Jolly Harmonies is a feel good, community-focused concert that is perfect for the entire family, including first-timers,” noted Amber Broderick, the DuPage Symphony Orchestra’s General Manager. “The concerts are 75-minutes of light-hearted holiday fare, performed without intermission. All guests will receive a candy cane, and kids get their own DSO coloring book with crayons.”

The Spectrum Youth Singers, led by Artistic Director Oksana Rodak, will join the DuPage Symphony Orchestra during these two holiday concerts, just as they did last December. Young singers will perform holiday carols in the Wentz lobby before each show. They will join the DuPage Symphony Orchestra onstage for a special rendition of Richard Hayman's Here We Come A-Caroling. Last year they performed Carol of the Bells, or Shchedryk, in the Ukrainian language.

Spectrum Youth Singers is a community children’s choir that is based in Plainfield and provides top-notch vocal instruction and an excellent musical curriculum. Boys and girls who attend this vocal group learn to discover their true voice in a stimulating and nurturing environment where every singer can grow musically, intellectually, and personally. Artistic Director Oksana Rodak has a passion for working with young singers and helping them to find their true voice, and under her directorship Spectrum Youth Singers will once again impress their audience with their professional and touching presentation.

Under the baton of Maestra Barbara Schubert, the music presented during Holly Jolly Harmonies concerts will sound particularly happy and vibrant. The concert program will start with Christmas Favorites arranged by Bruce Chase. The audience will enjoy such familiar songs as It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas; Silver Bells; and The Christmas Song.

Christmas Overture written by British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor will continue the program. Born in London, Coleridge-Taylor was the son of a West African father and English mother. His talent shines through every note of his Overture, which includes such familiar melodies as God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen; Good King Wenceslas; and Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

It will be followed by March of the Toys from the operetta called Babes in Toyland by Victor Herber. Interestingly, the original production premiered at the Grand Opera House of Chicago in June 1903, and now, more than 100 years later, the DuPage Symphony Orchestra’s audience will enjoy listening to March of the Toys, which is the best-known portion of this operetta.

A special treat for the audience will be Samuel Barber's Die Natali: Chorale Preludes for Christmas. The composer treats the holiday tunes very symphonically and sometimes takes them apart, puts them together, and even uses them simultaneously with each other.

Christmas in the Air arranged by Carl Strommen will bring warm feelings with such popular melodies as I’ll Be Home for Christmas; Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas; Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town; and Frosty the Snowman. The program will continue with Noël from Symphonic Sketches by American composer George Wakefield Chadwic. He wrote Symphonic Sketches between 1895 and 1904, and Noël is Sketch No. 2. This second movement was composed for the birth of Chadwick's son, whose name Noël is French for Christmas. The opening poem for this movement resembles the Christmas song Silent Night.

White Christmas by Irving Berlin and Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! by Jule Styne will make this concert unforgettable. But what about Santa? Is he coming to the DuPage Symphony Orchestra’s holiday concerts this year? We will find out in just a few days. Maestra Schubert loves to conduct Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderso, however she might get some unexpected help.

Let the DuPage Symphony Orchestra share with you the joy of music and of this beautiful season. For tickets and information, please go to https://www.dupagesymphony.org/sunday-december-17/ or contact the DSO Box Office (630.778.1003).

Natalia Dagenhart