NH Symphony offering pops concert of Holiday favorites

Once again, Music Conductor, Kenneth Kiesler will be leading the New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra's Holiday Pops concert in a blaze of joyful merriment. Adored by young and old alike, this sparkling program of festive songs and time-honored classics captures the spirit of the season with great orchestral flair.

New Hampshire's preeminent Symphony Orchestra and special guest vocalists Alissa Mercurio Rowe, soprano; Heather Yanke, mezzo-soprano; and Vale Rideout, tenor, will be combining their talents to present a merry and bright musical celebration at the Capitol Center for the Arts (CCA) on Sunday, Dec. 19 at 3 p.m. Ticket prices range from $11 to $39 and may be purchased at the CCA box office, 44 So. Main St., Concord, by telephone at (603) 225-1111, or online at www.ccanh.com.

A Holiday Brunch and Auction Benefit will be held in the lobby from 12:30-2:30 p.m. prior to the concert. Tickets are $5; please reserve through the CCA. The NHSO Holiday Pops program will also be presented at The Music Hall, 28 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth, (603) 436-2400 on Tuesday, December 21, 2004 at 7:30 p.m.

Maestro Kiesler has created a cheerful Pops program that includes Tchaikovsky's familiar "March" from the Nutcracker, Robert Wendel's "Coventry Carol," three pieces by Aharon Harlap: "Music for the Festival of Lights," "Ner Li," and "Chanukah, Chanukah," Randol Alan Bass' "Symphony of Carols" which includes "Silent Night," and sing-a-longs, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and "Joy to the World" and a surprise holiday song especially for the younger ones in the audience.