Three Holiday Events at Lyndon State College

Back-to-back Performances on December 6, 7 and 8

November 24, 2014

The Alexander Twilight Theatre on the Lyndon State College campus will be the hub of holiday activities for three days in early December. Lyndon’s performing and interpretive arts group, the Twilight Players, begin the festivities with a show on December 6; the Northeast Kingdom Community Orchestra performs the next afternoon; and the Lyndon State College Community Chorus will give a concert the evening of December 8.

The Twilight Players, one of Lyndon’s longest established student groups, are again presenting an original “Holiday Spectacular.” This year’s performance, written and directed by LSC senior Haley Marckres, is modeled after a 1970’s holiday-themed variety show. The show is at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 6. In lieu of admission, the students ask that audience members bring in a non-perishable food item or a new unwrapped toy for local charities.

On Sunday, December 7 at 3 p.m., the Northeast Kingdom Community Orchestra, under the direction of Janet Edmondson, will present a program entitled “It’s About Time!” The first half of the program features composers of the Classical period beginning with Hertel’s “Concerto in E-flat for Oboe and Trumpet.” This piece features St. Johnsbury Academy seniors (and longtime Community Orchestra members) Peter and Martin Gilmartin as soloists. The program continues with Haydn’s “Symphony No. 101 in D,” also known as the “Clock Symphony.”

The program’s second half opens with Leroy Anderson’s “Syncopated Clock” then turns to times of the year with Brian Balmages’ “Summer Dances.” This is followed by a “trio of troikas” by Tchaikovsky (the “November” movement of his “Seasons”), Mozart’s “Sleigh Ride” (from “Six German Dances”), and closing with Anderson’s beloved “Sleigh Ride.” The concert promises to be entertaining for young and old and in-between, with a variety of music styles ranging from classical to contemporary, including some familiar favorites.

The concert will be held in the Alexander Twilight Theater on the LSC campus, admission is by donation which will be gratefully accepted at the door; a reception will follow. The audience will have an opportunity to vote for their favorite orchestra pieces from past programs and hear them performed during the spring concert with the theme “Fan Favorite.”

On Monday, December 8 at 7 p.m., the LSC Community Chorus will present its annual winter concert, “A Celebration of Seasons and Song,” under the direction of Janet Edmondson. The group-comprised of college students and community members-will perform songs to reflect seasons and times. This includes “For Everything There is a Season” also familiar as “Turn, Turn, Turn;” a lush jazz setting of “Autumn Leaves;” contemporary winter pieces, “The Hush of Falling Snow” and “How Like a Winter,” the latter of which is based on a Shakespearian sonnet; and festive madrigals with a brass choir. Chorus director Edmondson promises, “An uplifting program for all ages.” The concert ends with an audience sing-along of the seasonal favorite “Winter Wonderland.”

The concert is in the Alexander Twilight Theater on the LSC campus. Admission is by donation which will be gratefully accepted at the door; a reception will follow.

This trio of holiday performances is part of Lyndon State College’s Lecture and Arts Series. The series is sponsored by Hayes Ford and Vermont Broadcast Associates, and made possible in part by the Harriett M. Sherman Lecture Fund.