LASO News:Los Alamos Symphony Orchestra (LASO) celebrates the season with its annual Holiday Concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14 at Crossroads Bible Church.
The concert is free, with donations sincerely appreciated, and all ages are warmly welcomed.
Conductor Tjett Gerdom has chosen a combination of classic and newer holiday repertoire. Excerpts from The Nutcracker, a holiday favorite for more than a century, open the concert.
The ballet, based on a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann and with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, was first produced in St. Petersburg, Russia, 1892. It was not a hit—critics panned the dancers and the choreography, employing adjectives like “disorderly,” “lopsided,” “amateurish,” and “completely insipid.”
Tchaikovsky’s score was spared the scorn, however, and the suite he took from the score quickly became popular. George Balanchine presented The Nutcracker at the New York City Ballet in 1954 to a much warmer reception, and by the 1960s it became a holiday classic for dance companies across North America.
The rest of the concert includes new and old holiday favorites. The selections include Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas,” and arrangement of “Silent Night,” “Sleigh Ride” and another piece by Leroy Anderson, and a medley holiday music featured in movies.
The Christmas singalong is always popular. A lucky raffle winner will take the podium and baton to conduct an arrangement of “Jingle Bells.”
The Symphony’s holiday concert is always a community favorite. Join LASO for music, fun and refreshments.
