This year, Bloomington Symphony Orchestra officials are looking to introduce a show organizers said they hope will become a local Christmas tradition.
“Holly Days: Christmas with the BSO” will take place at 5:30 and 8 p.m. Nov. 28 at the Buskirk Chumley.
“We are doing a variety of Christmas pieces,” said Donna Lafferty, executive director and a trombonist in the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra , adding that the two concerts will vary.
The earlier concert will be more children-friendly. The concert is set to be shorter and will have an educational component.
At the orchestra’s kid-friendly events, Lafferty said they usually have a “musical passport” they give out and stamp so that local children can get to know the different musical instruments that make up an orchestra. The “Holly Days” concert will focus on the brass instruments.
Santa and his elves will be in attendance, Lafferty said. There will also be a narrated piece of “The Night Before Christmas” in addition to a bass solo.
Adam Bodony is the artistic director for the orchestra. He said this is the first time the symphony has had a concert like their upcoming holiday event. Because of that, there has been a lot of work that went into individual rehearsals and concert preparation.
In fact, Lafferty said planning for the concert started in April. It felt weird, she said, to plan a holiday concert in the middle of spring. However, she added, the extra effort is worth it.
“I want people to go away feeling pleasantly surprised,” she said, adding she also hopes people leave the concert whistling to their music.
“We want the production of the show to be really tight,” Bodony said.
The concert must come across clean and organized for the audience. This is especially the case since the base of the orchestra is not the typical type of group.
Because BSO is a community orchestra, there could be just about anyone musically inclined playing. There’s a mash up of people, he said. Many players are professional musicians or music educators, according to the BSO website. However, there are others whose careers don’t revolve around music as well.
This mash-up of people lends itself to the feeling of community that comes from this concert. It also happens to line up with the Canopy of Lights ceremony that takes place downtown after Thanksgiving.
The Courthouse Square fills completely, Lafferty said.
“You have to stand a block or a block and a half away.”
The entire experience is frantic and a lot of fun, she said. Specific to the BSO concert, she added that the Buskirk-Chumley would be “lush,” filled with garlands, poinsettias and other décor set to line the theater’s walls. The Holly Days concert will hopefully surprise and delight concert-goers, Lafferty said.
“It’ll look like a big ol’ Christmas tree inside,” she said.
