The Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra is kicking off this year’s holiday season in a festive way with its concert, “A Holiday Gift of Music,” at the Good Shepherd Community Church in Boring. This musical event promises to be a uniquely entertaining and joyful celebration of the holidays.
The Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra is kicking off this year’s holiday season in a festive way with its concert, “A Holiday Gift of Music,” at the Good Shepherd Community Church in Boring. This musical event promises to be a uniquely entertaining and joyful celebration of the holidays.
COURTESY OF Joe Cantrell
Seasonal Strings: Members of the Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra rehearse in this file photo. The orchestra will bring a variety of holiday music to The Good Shephard Community Church in Boring.
The program will provide a sampling of different types of holiday music, including carols, sleigh ride, Rudolph and Hanukkah offerings. Audiences will get to experience pieces by a variety of composers including Richard Hayman, Calvin Custer, Robert Wendel, Robert Lunn, James Ployhar, Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins in a wide variety of musical selections.
This is the fifth year that PCSO has presented this musical event, which has consistently attracted large audiences. In the past they have presented the event in conjunction with a stage production of Peter and the Wolf.
This year, however, the orchestra is doing something completely different.
The concert is a “great way enjoy the music of the holidays in a new way, and to take in symphony in an exciting and innovative way, that is unlike the usual perception of a holiday concert,” said Shelly Williams, the orchestra’s operations manager.
In addition to the festive selection of music, this year the orchestra will be adding two new productions. The first is a multimedia presentation of the The Snowman, Howard Blake’s highly successful British children’s book, which was brought to life in the classic 1982 film adaptation.
The story is “a tale of a boy who builds a snowman one winter’s day. That night, at the stroke of midnight, The Snowman comes to life,” according to the orchestra’s website. The movie will be shown with the orchestra providing the live soundtrack and with narration provided by vocalist Alistair Sewell.
“This collaboration of live music accompanying film will provide the audience with unique and exciting musical experience, and we are very pleased to be able to offer it this year,” Williams said.
This multimedia collaboration of The Snowman was the idea of guest conductor Andrew Sewell, who has been the music director of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra for 11 years.
“[Andrew Sewell] is a man of great energy who has an excellent rapport with his audiences, who[m] he inspires with his energy, vitality and spirit,” Williams said.
A native of New Zealand, Andrew Sewell received his music training on the violin, piano and cornet, and began conducting at age 16. Six years later, he made his professional opera debut with the Mercury Opera and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.
He was awarded the Australian Guarantee Corporation’s Young Achiever’s Award, allowing him to further his studies abroad. He holds a Master of Arts in Music degree in conducting from the University of Michigan.
Andrew Sewell’s previous appointments include music director and conductor of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra in Kansas and the Mansfield Symphony in Ohio, resident conductor of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and assistant conductor of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.
New Zealand honored him in 1997 as the first recipient of the Aotea Performing Arts Trust’s Star Award, for which he spent time conducting in Finland and England.
In addition to The Snowman, the Portland Symphonic Girlchoir—under the direction of Roberta Jackson and Deb Burgess—will be presenting The Polar Express and It’s the Holiday Season!, followed by a holiday sing-along.
This event will also give aspiring musicians the opportunity to explore their skills with an “instrument petting zoo” that will be set up in the lobby. This musical petting zoo will provide a collection of instruments that children and young performers are welcome to play.
The orchestra hopes to bring together both afficionados and novices with its seasonal concert. “The beauty of attending this concert transcends the simple act of listening to music,” Williams said. “This event is about a community of people coming together to take part in a shared experience.”
