WT’s ‘Music of the Christmas
Season’to incorporate aerial
dancers, orchestra, choirs
” CANYON- Strings and voices won’t
be the only things soaring at West Texas
A&MUniversity’s annual “Music of the
Christmas Season” concert. WT Dance
students will take the theme of this
year’s concert – “Walking in the Air” –
quite literally in performances set for 4
and 7p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8 in Mary Moody
Northen Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon
campus.
Utilizing aerial silks, dancers will soar
over the orchestra; additional dancers
will perform at the foot of the stage. The
erformances also will feature the WT
ymphony Orchestra, the WT Chorale,
e WT Collegiate Choirs, allfrom WT’s
hool of Music, as well as Tascosa High
hool’s Les Chanteurs.
“Crystal Bertrand, WT Dance program
ctor, has been eager to collaborate
us for this concert for some time,
but with the orchestra and combined
choirs, we had no room on the stage,'”
said Dr. Mark Bartley, associate dean of
the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine
Arts, WT’s Lilith Brainard Professor of
Music and director of orchestral activ-
ities. “Butthis year, she said, ‘How about
above it?'”
Four dancers will offer an acrobatic
showcase above the orchestra during
three numbers: the first movement of
Antonio Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,”
Howard Blake’s “Walking in the Air” and
Alan Silvestri’s Suite from “The Polar Ex-
press.” An additional dozen dancers also
will perform. The concert also will fea-
ture a mix of holiday classics, sacred
works and popular hits, including
“Christmas Time Is Here,” “Joy to the
World,” “GoTellIt on the Mountain” and
more.
Tickets for the perennially popular
event are sold out, but the concert willbe
broadcast at 8 p.m. Dec. 24 and 9 p.m.
Dec. 25 on Panhandle PBS. Following
that, the concert can be viewed on the
WT School of Music’s YouTube page.
For more festivities planned this
month in Canyon and Amarillo, see our
holiday events roundup in this Sunday’s
Globe-News edition and online at ama-
rillo.com.