Schoharie Valley Concert Band Holiday Concert - Saturday, Dec 14 at 7PM , Snow Date Sunday, Dec 15 at 3PM

COBLESKILL – Conductor Samantha Baldwin has scheduled the Schoharie Valley Concert Band (SVCB) Holiday Concert for Saturday, December 14th at 7PM in the Cobleskill-Richmondville High School Auditorium, with a concert snow date of Sunday, December 15th at 3PM. Students will be admitted free and the performance is open to the general-public.

Conductor Baldwin has selected a diverse set of holiday music.  John Moss wrote a concert band arrangement with rich harmonies of George Wyle’s well-known piece sung by Andy Williams,  “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”. 

“Portraits of Christmas” arranged by Warren Barker is a medley of  the lilting tune “The Holly and the Ivy”, “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear’, and “Joy to the World”. 

“Gesu Bambino” (The Infant Jesus) from “Pastorale for Christmas” by R. Mark Rogers is based on the carol composed by Pietro Yon  in 1917.  The melody and lyrics of the piece were derived from the chorus  of “Adeste Fidelis” (“O Come All Ye Faithful”). 

“Christmas Vacation” is Patrick Roszell’s arrangement of the movie soundtrack to the Chevy Chase classic film “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” written by Cynthia Weil.  

“Hanukkah Holiday” is a David Marshall arrangement of  three musical pieces “O Hanukkah”, the majestic tune “Maoz Tzur”, and the lively dance “Zum Gali Gali”. 

“A New Orleans Nutcracker Suite” composed by Piotr Tchaikovsky and arranged by Michael Kamul is a 2023 reimagined version of “The Nutcracker Suite” that reflects the rich diversity and creativity of New Orleans jazz music in three movements.

“You Better Sleigh!” is a 2023 syncopated, modernistic piece by Jarod Hall which intertwines snippets of melodies from :”O Come All Ye Faithful”, “O Tannenbaum”, “Child of Love”,  “O Little Town of Bethlehem”, and “The Twelve Days of Christmas”.

“A Fireside Christmas”, by Sammy Nestico,  is a sparkling package of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, “I’ll be Home for Christmas”, “Frosty the Snow Man”, “Winter Wonderland”, and “The Christmas Song” which should warm everyone’s heart. 

The Schoharie Valley Concert Band is open to all area residents including high school and college students.  Rehearsals are held on Thursday evenings from 7-9:15 PM. in the Cobleskill-Richmondville HS band room.  Rehearsals for the Friday, February 7th 7PM Valentine Pops Concert will begin on January 2nd.  For information on how to join the band, please contact Conductor Samantha Baldwin at svcbconductor@gmail.com.