— from Kristen Wilson —
Just a reminder that the Orcas High School Strings and Band, along with the combined Orcas Youth Orchestra will be presenting a performance at Orcas Center this Thursday at 7 p.m. The concert is free and the community is invited.The High School Strings will perform the first movement of J.S. Bach’s familiar and wonderful Concerto in D Minor – also known as the Bach Double, a lush and unique setting of the English folksong Greensleeves, and A Mad Russian’s Christmas – an inventive reinterpretation of The Russian Dance from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker.
The High School Band will perform a humorous intertwining of Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever with several holiday classics in Robert Foster’s arrangement of Stars and Stripes for Christmas, Calvin Custer’s percussive and Latin-style medley – Calypso Christmas, as well as Santa at the Symphony – Mark Williams’ phenomenal blend of classical music themes (such as Eine kleine Nachtmusik) with seasonal melodies (such as Silent Night).
The Orcas Strings and Band combine as the “Orcas Youth Orchestra” to play Wizards in Winter from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra stage show, Santa’s Classical Christmas – Mark Williams’ ingenious sequel to Santa At the Symphony, the show-stopping How the Grinch Stole Christmas. and Handel’s triumphant Hallelujah Chorus from the Messiah. Audience members who have their own Messiah score are encouraged to bring it and sing along.
