- Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 December 2021 23:39
Washington Symphony Orchestra returns to live season performances ‘Ho Ho Ho with the WSO’ scheduled for December 4 & 5 For the first time since March 1, 2020, the full Washington Symphony Orchestra will take the stage indoors.
“This past year has certainly presented challenges we could have never imagined,” said Artistic Director Yugo Ikach. “The pandemic changed how we interact, congregate, and even think. Through it all, we persevered.”
Washington Symphony Orchestra’s holiday performance, “Ho Ho Ho with the WSO” is scheduled for Saturday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, December 5 at 3 p.m.
To allow more flexibility for social distancing, this concert will be held at the Washington County Fairgrounds on North Main Street in Washington. This will be the WSO’s first time at the venue. The remaining two season concerts will take place at the WSO’s usual venue, Trinity High School, in March and May.
The concert is supported in part by a grant from the EQT Foundation. This is the sixth year that EQT has partnered with the WSO.
The Washington Jazz Orchestra will present a pre-concert program 30-minutes before the WSO start time each day. Then, during the concert, the WSO will engage the Jazz Orchestra in a “battle of the bands” of sorts, with the WSO playing selections from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker and the Jazz Orchestra responding with selections from Duke Ellington’s The Jazz Nutcracker.
Trinity Middle School and High School Chamber Choirs and St. James Parish Choir will be joining the WSO for the Hallelujah chorus and “Christmas Day.” There will be an opportunity for the audience to sing along on “Deck the Halls” and “12 Days of Christmas.”
An electric guitar and bass will be added when the WSO takes on three Trans Siberian Orchestra pieces: “A Mad Russian’s Christmas” and “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24.”
“Horse and Buggy,” “Bugler’s Holiday,” and “Veni, Veni, Emanuel” will round out the program.
Maximilian the Elf will return to bring news from the North Pole.
Tickets start at just $17 and can be purchased online at washsym.org, by calling 1-888-71-TICKETS, or at the following locations: Citizens Library, the Peters Township Public Library, and the WSO Office on East Wheeling Street in Washington (WSO Office by appointment only, call 724-223-9796 and leave a message for appointment). Tickets are also available at the door. For further information about the symphony, visit www.washsym.org or connect with the WSO on Facebook (facebook.com/washsymphony).