The Elmhurst University Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble will present their annual Holiday Concert on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. in Hammerschmidt Chapel on the university campus. The concert will feature special guest artists Steven and Misa Mead, virtuoso euphonium soloists who have achieved worldwide recognition on the instrument. In addition, the concert will feature a variety of holiday music with an audience sing-along of the most beloved Christmas carols. The concert is free and open to the campus and community.
Guest artist Steven Mead is known as one of the world’s leading brass soloists, having played with many of the world’s finest wind and brass bands and orchestras. His sensational career as a professional soloist continues at an astonishing pace, and with over seventy-five solo performances a year, his relentless schedule sees him touring almost constantly. Guest artist Misa Mead is an international virtuoso, composer and arranger. She has performed as a guest artist in over twenty countries and has won numerous awards at solo competitions. Her debut CD Journey was released to great critical acclaim.
The Symphonic Band will open the program with Toboggan, a musical depiction of children racing downhill to the finish line on their toboggans. One of the most enjoyable holiday favorites invites us to hear those sleigh bells jingling in a wonderful world of snow in Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride. Guest artist Misa Mead will be the featured euphonium soloist on Green Hill, a virtuoso piece based on Celtic dance music. Fantasia in G by Timothy Mahr is a colorful piece featuring the ode to Joy theme from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.
The Symphonic Band portion of the concert will conclude with an audience sing-along to some of the most delightful Christmas carols fashioned together in Leroy Anderson’s famous Christmas Festival.
The Wind Ensemble will open with a Symphonic Prelude on Adeste Fideles to be followed by JoyRide, a piece bursting with excitement and joy. Percy Grainger’s beautiful Sussex Mummers’ Christmas Carol comes from England dating to 1880. Guest artist Steven Mead will be featured on Pantomime, a piece designed to show the lyrical and technical prowess of the euphonium. Steven and Misa Mead will be featured on Philip Sparke’s Two-Part Invention, where the players get a chance to show off their virtuoso techniques as only they can. John Mackey’s Aurora Awakes is a piece about the heralding of the coming of light, moving from a place of remarkable stillness to startling rainbows of color. The concert will conclude with a special arrangement of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy and an audience sing-along to We Wish You a Merry Christmas. And who knows? . . . There may be a visit by a jolly gentleman in a red suit!
The public is welcome to attend and admission to the concert is free. For further information regarding this concert, future performances, a map of the campus or more information, please visit www.elmhurst.edu/music.
