Symphony Preview: 'Tis the season, Part 2

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s regular concert season traditionally goes on hiatus during December, but special holiday events continue right up through New Year’s Eve. This week is relatively light, with only two shows.

Take 6

Friday, December 13^th at 7:30 pm it’s a long-standing SLSO holiday event: the IN UNISON Chorus Christmas concert.  Chorus director Kevin McBeth leads the chorus and orchestra in a mix of gospel, jazz, and traditional favorites for the season.  Guest soloists are basses Reginald Davis and Charles Stancil, sopranos De-Rance Blaylock and Rochelle Calhoun, alto Mary Moorehead, and the Grammy Award®-winning a cappella vocal sextet Take 6.

Now celebrating its 30^th anniversary, the IN UNISON chorus is an auditioned ensemble of volunteer singers that performs a variety of musical styles, with a focus on the interpretation, performance, and preservation of music from the African diaspora. Kevin McBeth, who became director of the chorus in 2011, is Adjunct Professor in Choral Music at Webster University as well as Director of Music at Manchester United Methodist Church, where he serves as full-time administrator for the Music Ministry.

It's worth noting that the IN UNISON Christmas show has often sold out at Powell Hall, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see history repeat itself at the Stifel Theatre.

Conductor Ron Spigelman

Saturday at 7:00 pm and Sunday at 2 pm, December 14^th and 15^th, it’s “The Muppet Christmas Carol in Concert.” Ron Spigelman conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and members of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus as they perform Miles Goodman’s original score for this 2023 version of the Dickens classic while the film plays on the big screen overhead. Songwriter Paul Williams, who penned the Muppet classic “Rainbow Connection,” contributed original songs.

The SLSO movie nights are generally family-friendly affairs, so expect a fair number of wee folk, especially at the Sunday matinee.  And it is, after all, The Muppets.

Next week: the big Mercy Holiday Celebration. Stay tuned!