Houston Symphony Announces Schedule of Events for December 2015

HOUSTON (October 29, 2015) - This December, the Houston Symphony will deck the concert hall with the sounds of holiday cheer to celebrate the festive time of year. Now in its 15th season, the annual Houston holiday tradition Very Merry Pops will once again delight audiences big and small with favorite holiday carols and the holiday classic Handel's Messiah also returns with full glorious choruses that tell the story of Christmas through the fine masterpiece. New this year is the live orchestral accompaniment to the film Home Alone to celebrate the movie's 25th anniversary.

On December 4, Home Alone returns to the big screen in Home Alone - Film with Live Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Starring Macaulay Culkin, the orchestra will perform John Williams' famous score live as audiences sit back and enjoy the Christmas classic. The performance will be led by Principle POPS Conductor Designate Steven Reineke and will include the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts Chorus.

The next weekend brings a Houston Symphony crowd favorite back to the stage, the annual Very Merry Pops concerts, led by Principle POPS Conductor Michael Krajewski at 8 p.m. on December 11 and 12 and 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. on December 13. Complete with Christmas décor, the Houston Symphony Chorus, and a visit from jolly St. Nick himself, the concert will also feature baritone vocalist Reginald Smith Jr., a recent graduate of the Houston Grand Opera Studio and a 2015 grand finals winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Also on December 12, A Frosty and Frozen Christmas, the second in this season's Family concert series, will descend on Jones Hall. Two performances at 10 and 11:30 a.m.will feature guest conductor Ming Luke and Houston Symphony co-concertmaster Eric Halen in Christmas favorites such as, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Frosty the Snowman," "Let It Go" from Disney's Frozen and a Christmas sing-along for all.

Closing out the month of holiday concerts will be three performances of Handel's Messiah at 8 p.m. on December 18 and 19 and 2:30 p.m. on December 20. Guest conductor Nicholas Kraemer will lead the Houston Symphony Chorus and orchestra in the most-performed choral works in Western music.

All concerts will take place at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, 615 Louisiana Street, in Houston's Theater District. For tickets and information, please call (713) 224-7575 or visit www.houstonsymphony.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the Houston Symphony Patron Services Center in Jones Hall (Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). All programs and artists are subject to change.