Holiday Concert

Celebrate the season with the Middlesex Concert Band at our annual Holiday Concert! This festive afternoon of music will feature cherished holiday favorites alongside fresh takes on seasonal classics, all sure to bring joy and holiday spirit.

This year’s performance is presented free of charge, thanks to the generous support of an anonymous sponsor. Bring your family and friends and enjoy an afternoon of music that will warm your heart and brighten your holidays.

So take a break from the holiday bustle, relax, and let the music of the season surround you. We look forward to sharing this joyful tradition with you!

Program Details:

A Winter Journey – Randall Standridge

This piece is a joyful, rhythmic celebration of winter travel and the people waiting at the other end of the road. Using the familiar melody of Over the River and Through the Wood as its foundation. I’ve combined it with original material to create a fast-paced ride in a compound 12/8 meter — perfect for evoking the galop of hooves, the jingle of bells, and the crisp energy of a snowy day (Source)

A Christmas Intrada – Alfred Reed

A Christmas Intrada represents an attempt to portray, in musical terms alone, five contrasting moods associated with the festivities of the Christmas season. These five sections are played without pause. They are: Fanfare: Christus Natus Est, for brass, chimes, bells and percussion only; Lullaby for the Christ Child played by the woodwind and saxophones; Processional of the Kings and Shepherds played by the full group; Carol for the Holy Night for woodwinds, saxophones and muted brass; and, finally, Wassail and Alleluia beginning with the bells and chimes alone, and gradually growing to include not only the full group but also antiphonal brass choirs, to bring the entire work to a joyous and triumphant conclusion. (Source)

March of the Toys – Victor Herbert

This march is part of the operetta Babes in Toyland, composed by Victor Herbert in 1903. Toyland is a magical land where two children experience all sorts of adventures. This quick march in a pseudo military style depicts a scene in the operetta where toy soldiers rescue the two children. Victor Hugo (1859-1924) was born in Ireland, but spent his youth in Germany where he studied composition and cello. He found fame in America as an (operetta) composer and conductor. (Source)

Grown Up Christmas List –  Michael Brown — April Foley vocal soloist

hough originally recorded by David Foster with Natalie Cole, the 1992 version by Amy Grant is largely responsible for this song’s continued popularity. This inspiring ballad will add a special lift to any holiday concert, and Michael’s great-sounding arrangement can be performed effectively with or without a vocal soloist. (Source)

Minor Alterations No. 2 – David Louvrien

Looking for something REALLY different for this year’s Christmas concert? Here’s a game of holiday hide-and-seek for your audience! Minor Alterations: Christmas Through the Looking Glass is a medley of favorite Christmas tunes, transposed from major to minor keys then disguised, layered and morphed even more. From the ominous Deck the Halls at the start to the final, frenzied Nutcracker Suite finale, each tune is lovingly twisted into something new and inventive.  (Source)

Snow on Snow – Megan Vinther

Capturing the quiet beauty of winter, this lyrical and introspective work blends haunting original melodies with Gustav Holst’s beloved In the Bleak Midwinter. Delicate textures and rich harmonic progressions evoke the peaceful stillness of snowfall, inviting performers and audience to pause and reflect. Serene and expressive, this piece is a perfect addition to winter or festival concerts, offering a moment of calm amid the season’s bustle. (Source)

Christmas With Mozart – Julie Giroux

An absolute delight to add a fresh lift to a holiday concert. Familiar holiday melodies are cleverly interwoven with some of Mozart’s motifs in an up-tempo Mozartean setting.

This arrangement is in a Mozart-ish style using a number of Christmas carols in combination with a few of Mozart’s, Bach’s and other composers’ works. Fast, fun and full of tunes –see if you can find them all! (Source)

Fanfare for the Festival of Lights – Evan Vandoren

“Fanfare for the Festival of Lights” weaves two traditional Hanukkah melodies, Ma’oz Tzur and The Dreidel Song into a colorful, rousing celebration! Evan VanDoren has masterfully crafted an approachable, mature-sounding composition that will challenge your best performers while meeting the needs of your developing players. Get your next holiday concert started with energy and excitement! (Source)

The Eight Candle – Steve Reisteter

The Eighth Candle remembers the story of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. It begins with an extended hymn-like section followed by an exciting dance of celebration. The feast commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian-Greek tyrant Antiochus over 2,180 years ago. Legend has it that after the battles were won there was only enough oil for the ceremonial lights to last for one day, yet by some miracle the oil lasted for eight days. Hanukkah is celebrated by the family in the home rather than in the synagogue. In modern times candles are lit, one for each day of the holiday, prayers are recited, then the feast and merrymaking begin. (Source)

Santa Baby – Philip Springer – April Foley, Vocal Soloist

“Santa Baby” is a song performed by American singer Eartha Kitt with Henri René and His Orchestra and originally released in 1953. The song was written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer, who also used the pseudonym Tony Springer in an attempt to speed up the song’s publishing process. Lyrically, the song is a tongue-in-cheek look at a Christmas list addressed to Santa Claus by a woman who wants extravagant gifts such as sables, yachts, and decorations from Tiffany, which become increasingly laced with innuendo and the implication that the woman is infatuated with Santa. (Source)

Fireside Christmas – Sammy Nestico

our auditorium will glow with warmth and good will when your band performs this charming medley! Featured in the medley are: Winter Wonderland; I’ll Be Home for Christmas; The Christmas Song; Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Sammy Nestico has wrapped them all up in a sparkling package that will warm everyone’s heart! (Source)

Christmas Carol-oke – arr. Larry Clark – April and the audience sing-a-long

There is nothing more fun around the holidays than singing Christmas carols in a large group. What better way to spruce up your holiday concert than to have your audience participate in the concert with a good old-fashioned sing-along? This arrangement contains eight popular carols: “O Christmas Tree,” “Jingle Bells,” “Deck the Halls,” “Jolly Old St. Nicholas,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “Silent Night,” “Up on the Housetop,” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” (Source)

Sleigh Ride – Leroy Anderson.

Sleigh Ride is a light orchestra standard whose music was composed by Leroy Anderson. The composer had formed the original idea for the piece during a heat wave in July 1946, and he finished the work in February 1948. The original recordings were instrumental versions. The lyrics, about riding in a sleigh and other fun wintertime activities, were written by Mitchell Parish in 1950. The orchestral version was first recorded in 1949 by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra. A selection of the artists who have recorded it include Herb Alpert, The Andrews Sisters, The Carpenters, Bing Crosby, The Boston Pops Orchestra, Ella Fitzgerald, the amazing Debbie Gibson, The Muppets, and Andy Williams. (Source)