By Kurt Loft
Music for the Holidays
In-Person and Online Celebrations
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Need to get out of the house for some December cheer? Don’t we all. So this week, the Arts Coast Magazine offers a select list of holiday concerts and events to scare the Grinch away and keep you in a celebratory mood.
First up is the annual Holiday Pops, one of The Florida Orchestra’s best-selling programs – a family frolic full of favorite Christmas songs in orchestral garb, including an audience sing-a-long and imaginative suite of carols. . . December 10 at 8 pm, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa; December 11 at 2 and 8 pm, Mahaffey Theater, 400 1st St. S., St. Petersburg; December 12 at 2 and 7:30 pm, Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen Booth Road, Clearwater. Tickets at floridaorchestra.org.
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It won’t be snowing anytime soon, so take a stroll along Tampa’s beautiful Riverwalk when celebrated pianist John O’Leary III of La Lucha takes the Riverwalk Stage for a free concert on December 11 from 6-9 pm. Details here.
When five friends get together to celebrate the holiday away from relatives and crowded malls, you’ve got the makings of T’was A Girls’Night Before Christmas: The Musical. . . December 10 at 7:30 pm, December 11 at 2:30 and 7:30 pm, December 12 at 2:30 pm; Straz Center for the Performing Arts, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa. Tickets at strazcenter.org.
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The Dunedin Music Society presents A Calm Classical Christmas, a collection of soothing holiday tunes designed to quiet the nerves during what many consider a stressful time of year. . . December 12 at 3 pm and December 15 at 7 pm at First United Methodist Church of Dunedin, 421 Main St, Dunedin. Tickets at dunedinmusicsociety.org.
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Every year at this time, the University of Tampa decorates for the holidays with its Victorian Christmas Stroll at the Plant Museum, 401 W. Kennedy Blvd. through December 23 from 10 am to 8 pm. Tickets at plantmuseum.com.
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If you like Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller and the boys, you mostly likely will love holiday arrangements for orchestra during the Big Band Christmas. . . December 12 at 2 pm at the Central Park Performing Arts Center, 105 Central Park Dr. in Largo. Tickets at largoarts.com.
More than 100 singers and instrumentals stage a variety of holiday music with The Many Moods of Christmas on December 12 at 4 pm, First Presbyterian Church, 701 Beach Dr. NE, St. Petersburg. Free.
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The talented students of the Patel Conservatory, which include the Chamber Strings, Vocal Arts Choir and Suzuki Strings, offer contemporary interpretations of holiday classics during their Holiday Music Concert on December 14 at 7 pm at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa. Tickets at strazcenter.org.
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The Studio@620 presents Orilla: Christmas From Around the World on December 18 at 8 pm. Orilla is the collaborative duo project of vocalist Ona Kirei and bassist Alejandro Arenas. This unique concert features Christmas and winter songs from Spain (in Spanish, Catalan and Euskera), Colombia, Venezuela, Germany and even one in Arabic from Egypt. Tickets at studio620.org.
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It’s not December without a choir belting out a few Hallelujahs in a production of The Messiah, Handel’s most famous oratorio. Check out the big-time performances by The Florida Orchestra and Master Chorale of Tampa Bay on December 17 at 8 pm at the Straz Center, Tampa; December 18 at 8 pm at the Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg; December 19 at 2 pm at Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater. Tickets at floridaorchestra.org.
If you like the sound of trumpets, horns and tubas, consider the Holiday Brass, featuring the crack-professional members of The Florida Orchestra on December 18 at 2 pm at the Palladium Theater, 253 5th Ave. N., St. Petersburg. Tickets at mypalladium.org.
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New Tampa Dance Theater presents Tchaikovsky’s most beloved ballet, The Nutcracker on December 18 at 2 and 7 pm and December 19 at 2 pm at USF Theater 1, 3839 USF Holly Dr. on the University of South Florida’s Tampa campus. Tickets at newtampadancetheatre.com.
The Next Generation Ballet, which includes dancers from the American Ballet Theatre, offer five performances of The Nutcracker on December 17 at 7 pm, December 18 at 2 and 7 pm, and December 19 at 1 and 6 pm at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa. Tickets at strazcenter.org
No, you can’t get through the holidays without watching Frank Capra’s 1946 film classic It’s A Wonderful Life, which Jimmy Stewart regarded as his best movie. You’ve got no less than 10 showings from December 17-23 at the historic Tampa Theatre, 711 N. Franklin St., Tampa. Tickets at tampatheatre.org.
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And through December 30, join the West Coast Black Theatre for Joyful! Joyful! – a brand new holiday celebration with high-spirited takes on traditional holiday tunes, Gospel-infused classics and pop songs including “African Drummer Boy,” “Carol of the Bells” as an homage to the O’Jays, and a lively Gospel rendition of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.” “Come help us unwrap the gift of joyful, soulful seasonal music. We all need it now more than ever!” Tickets at westcoastblacktheatre.org.
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Accessible Online Celebrations
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Christmas From Mexico: A Ballet Performance
December 11 from 1:30-3 pm
Free, Live via Zoom
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Experience the magic of dance this Christmas through the Puebla Company of Dance’s live streamed ballet performance. “Xmas from Mexico” features ballet and folkloric in an adaptation of Mexican holiday traditions. Virtually immerse yourself in global cultures, and support youth arts education. RSVP here.
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Stories for a Winter Solstice
December 18 from 8-10 pm
Free, Live on Zoom
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Colorado’s Stories with a Spirit spins stories of the dark and the light to welcome in the coming year, and bid farewell to the old. with story and song, with mirth and tears. RSVP here
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Sandra Scott Singing Studios in London
An Evening of Readings, Carols and Christmas Songs to Welcome in the Christmas Time
December 20 from 1:45-3 pm EST
Free, Live via Zoom
A cosy and warm as a mulled wine evening of songs for Christmas. With ditties such as White Christmas, Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and wonderful Readings and Carols such as O Holy Night and Once in Royal David’s City and In the Bleak Midwinter we aim to bring Christmas cheer and cosiness to your living room wherever you may be. RSVP here.
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On-Demand
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A Gospel Christmas
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the All-Atlanta Chorus share a rousing gospel version of the Hallelujah Chorus with special guests The Pointer Sisters.
Find more of this spectacular 1994 concert here.
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Handel’s Messiah
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Boston Baroque shares a celebrated performance of Handel’s Messiah.
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Detroit Public Library starts their first Virtual Holiday Storytelling Festival with A Tale of Three Trees, performed by members of the Detroit Association of Black Storytellers.
Find many more holiday stories told by the D.A.B.S. here.
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A Gullah Christmas
Storyteller, singer, and historic reenactor Gloria Barr Ford shares memories of holidays in the Lowcountry and reads aloud Dr. Virginia Geraty’s A Gullah Night Before Christmas.
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Sesame Street’s The Power of We Club
Gabrielle, Tamir, Elmo, Charlie, and Grover are being Holiday Helpers by doing things that help their community – like having a food drive, a holiday sing-a-long, a coat drive and wrapping gifts for others. You can be a Holiday Helper too, by doing something to spread joy and kindness in your own community this holiday season. Find out more here.
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