The Jacksonville Symphony gets in the Christmas spirit this month with a schedule replete with holiday offerings.
Holiday Pops
The symphony’s Fidelity National Pops Series begins this week with performances Thursday, Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 9 at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 10 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 11 at 3 p.m. Associate Conductor Nathan Aspinall will lead the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus – under the direction of Donald McCullough – with guest soloist Mikki Sodergren. The program will also feature performances by students from the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts; guests dancers Joshua Clinton, Jose Jimenez, Kaleb Sims; and a special appearance of the Bethel Baptist Institutional Church Choir.
Tickets for the Holiday Pops concerts range from $27 to $77.
Handel’s Messiah
The Jacksonville Symphony will also present two performances of Handel’s “Messiah” this holiday season on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 18 at 3 p.m. Aspinall will lead the orchestra and soloists Susannah Biller, Aleksandra Romano, Chris Carr and Daniel Mobbs, who will be joined by the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus. Ticket prices range from $27 to $77.
The First Coast Nutcracker
The First Coast Nutcracker will perform its first season as an official part of the Jacksonville Symphony. To be presented in the Moran Theater at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts, the production will be the only area Nutcracker performance to include a full, live orchestra. Performances will be presented Friday, Dec. 16 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. Chelsea Tipton will conduct the symphony, and Yumelia Garcia and Mauro Villaneuva will be the principal dancers.
New Year’s Eve
The symphony’s holiday celebrations will conclude with a bang on New Year’s Eve, when conductor Steven Reineke and guest vocalists Tony DeSare and Montego Glover present the Music of Frank Sinatra at its New Year’s Eve. The music director of the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, Reineke will be lead the swinging sound starting at 9 p.m. Dec. 31, followed by the symphony’s After Party and fireworks viewing from the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. Ticket prices for the New Year’s Eve event range from $27 to $77; the After Party is $25 for standard admission and $40 for VIP.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit jaxsymphony.org or call the box office at (904) 354-5547.
