PSO Holiday POPS! Wonderlands Concert to be Held 12/19

On Saturday, December 19 at 4 pm, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) presents Holiday POPS! Wonderlands featuring festive music sparked by imaginative visions of distant lands. Conducted by John Devlin, concert highlights include works by Vaughan-Williams, Tchaikovsky, Humperdinck, and Sibelius. The Princeton High School Choir performs Handel's Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah and arrangements of "I Saw Three Ships" and "Twelve Days of Christmas," accompanied by the orchestra. The traditional sing-along, an arrangement of seasonal favorites by Leroy Anderson, includes the addition of young violinists of El Sistema-Trenton playing alongside PSO professionals. The student musicians also perform David Rimelis' "Three Little Birds/Ode to Joy."

John Devlin is an innovative conductor whose performances are hailed by The Washington Post as "refreshingly unfamiliar" events that deliver "a new audience for classical music," and that have brought "the sold-out house to its feet, cheering." His mission as a conductor is to deliver concerts that frame orchestral music in new and innovative ways. Mr. Devlin currently serves as Music Director and Conductor of both Gourmet Symphony and the McLean Youth Orchestra. In addition to his recent appointment as Assistant Conductor of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, he serves as a cover conductor for Christoph Eschenbach at the National Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Devlin initiates a journey around the world with Leroy Anderson's holiday classic Sleigh Ride. Ralph Vaughan-Williams' Fantasia on "Greensleeves" recalls an old English folk tune, Engelbert Humperdinck's "Dream Pantomime" from Hansel and Gretel is based on the German folk tale fashioned by The Brothers Grimm, and selections from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker represent the composer's musical notions of Arabia, China, and Old Russia. The PSO pays homage to Jean Sibelius' 150th birthday with Finlandia, a piece written in celebration of his homeland.

The Princeton High School Choir has a rich tradition of choral excellence that is unique among American high schools. Under the direction of Vincent Metallo, it has performed extensively in North America and Europe. The choir toured most recently to Ljubljana, Slovenia; Padova, Verona, and Venice, Italy; Catalonia and Barcelona, Spain; and Estonia and Latvia.

El Sistema-Trenton is a project launched in February of this year as a partnership between Trenton Community Music School and the Trenton Public Schools. Like El Sistema-inspired orchestras worldwide, its central mission is to use music to help young people understand their role as an asset to their community. Forty-five third, fourth, and fifth-graders study violin, viola, or cello and musicianship intensively, three days a week, at Grant Elementary School under the careful tutelage of five instructors from the music school.

Holiday POPS! is generously sponsored by the Princeton branch of Fidelity Investments. The concert is held annually at Richardson Auditorium, on the campus of Princeton University. There is general admission seating for the December 19 performance: Adults $40, Students $25 (17 and under); order online at princetonsymphony.org or call (609) 497-0020.

Prelude Event at Princeton Garden Theatre

On December 10, at the Princeton Garden Theatre, PSO harpist Jacqueline Kerrod will be performing holiday music at 7 pm, prior to the theatre's 7:30 pm screening of It's a Wonderful Life. For tickets, go to princetongardentheatre.org.

Used Instrument Drive

Princeton University's Office of Public Affairs and WWFM The Classical Network are hosting Instruments of Change benefitting Trenton Community Music School from November 30 through December 4. The Office of Public Affairs will open its doors for members of the community whose musical instruments are in need of a good home. Families whose children have outgrown their small instruments, shifted their interests away from playing, or developed into the need for a finer instrument, will find grateful recipients for their ½-size violins, novice-level cellos, or any instruments that are no longer played. Instruments can be dropped off at 22 Chambers Street in Princeton, from November 30 - December 4, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, and on Tuesday, December 1 -- Giving Tuesday -- at WWFM's offices located at 1200 Old Trenton Road in West Windsor, on the campus of Mercer County Community College.