December 7

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HOLIDAY

Friday | 12.7.18 | 8:00 PM
St. Paul's Church, 315 West 22nd Street

The Chelsea Symphony continues its holiday tradition!

This year our annual holiday concert features actress and musician Annie Golden, known for her role in Orange is the New Black, as the guest narrator for the orchestra’s own special version of The Night Before Christmas by composer Aaron Dai. This concert is conducted by Reuben Blundell, Mark Seto, and Nell Flanders.

The performance also includes selections from Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck, the Christmas Overture by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride. As is the tradition, Sleigh Ride will be conducted by the winner of The Chelsea Symphony's 2017 silent auction, Ray Cerabone.

Clarinetist Erik Jönsson performs as featured soloist on Paul Ben-Haim’s Pastorale Variée for clarinet, harp, and string orchestra, clarinetist Christine Todd returns to the spotlight performing the second movement Adagio from Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A Major, and violinists Nicholas Pappone and EJ Lee, violist Elizabeth Holub, and cellist Talia Dicker join forces for the string quartet part to Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro.

All attendees are invited to a silent auction and wine reception in support of the orchestra following the concert.

Concerts will be held at St. Paul's German Lutheran Church, 315 West 22nd Street

Premium unassigned seating in special reserved areas on sale now on Eventbrite!

Click the link above or visit our organizer page to view all of our upcoming concerts: http://thechelseasymphony.eventbrite.com

Limited day-of tickets available at the door for a suggested donation of $20.

Program

Engelbert HumperdinckThree Excerpts from Hänsel und Gretel
Edward ElgarIntroduction and Allegro, op. 47 (Pappone, Lee, Holub, Dicker)
Paul Ben-HaimPastorale Variée for clarinet, harp and string orchestra
Erik Jönsson, Clarinet
Wolfgang Amadeus MozartClarinet Concerto in A Major, K.622, mvt. II Adagio
Christine Todd, Clarinet
Samuel Coleridge-TaylorChristmas Overture
Leroy AndersonSleigh Ride
Ray Cerabone, Guest Conductor
Aaron Dai

The Night Before Christmas

Annie Golden, Guest Narrator

Featured Artists

Annie Golden
Guest Narrator

Friday, 12.7

Aaron Dai: The Night Before Christmas


Annie considers herself the illegitimate child of the legitimate theatre, having been discovered on the Bowery fronting a rock band and cast by Milos Forman as Jeannie in HAIR, the 1978 film. Some Broadway credits include: VIOLET, XANADU, THE FULL MONTY, AH! WILDERNESS. Also was Sondheim’s original Squeaky Fromme in ASSASSINS (Playwrights Horizons). Numerous Film/TV credits, most notably her role as Norma Romano in the hit series “Orange Is the New Black” for Lionsgate/Netflix.

Ray Cerabone
Guest Conductor

Friday, 12.7

Leroy Anderson: Sleigh Ride


Ray likes to refer to himself as "made in New York!" Born on Manhattan's West 50th Street and raised in Queens by creative, artistic parents, he received his BBA degree from City College and his MA in Educational Theater from New York University. He was a New York City elementary school teacher for 31 years, teaching most grades, but ultimately choosing to work with children in creative programs, including pantomime, improvisation, puppetry, music, and dance. He was also the drama …

Christine Todd
Clarinet

Friday, 12.7

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K.622, mvt. II Adagio


Clarinetist Christine Todd began performing with The Chelsea Symphony in 2008. A CPA, Christine holds an MBA from Columbia University and BA/BS degrees in German and accounting from Binghamton University. Since completing her studies and pursuing her professional career in New York (formerly the Vice President and CFO of The Juilliard School, and now CFO of the Kaufman Music Center), Christine has performed with many area musical organizations in addition to The Chelsea Symphony, including the New York Repertory Orchestra, …

Erik Jönsson
Clarinet

Friday, 12.7

Paul Ben-Haim: Pastorale Variée for clarinet, harp and string orchestra


Clarinetist Erik Jönsson lives in Brooklyn, NY. An active artist all across New York City, Erik has appeared with The Chelsea Symphony, New York Repertory Orchestra, One World Symphony, and Jackson Heights Orchestra, among others. A versatile musician whose passions span further than symphonic repertoire alone, he has also performed with the Wind Ensemble Society of New York City and in pit orchestras for Opera in the Slope and the HERE Arts Center production of Whiskey Pants: The Mayor of …

Pappone, Lee, Holub, and Dicker Quartet
String Quartet

Friday, 12.7

Edward Elgar: Introduction and Allegro, op. 47 (Pappone, Lee, Holub, Dicker)


Comprised of violinists Nicholas Pappone and EJ Lee, violist Elizabeth Holub, and cellist Talia Dicker, these four musicians lead diverse careers across New York City in a variety of roles around music, education, entrepreneurship, and outreach.

Nicholas Pappone, lauded as a "first rate" violinist by Maestro Lorin Maazel, makes a diverse career as soloist, chamber musician, orchestral musician, and teacher in New York City. A former professional actor, playing the role of a prodigy violinist in a film inspired his …

Conductor

Reuben Blundell has been a Chelsea Symphony conductor/violinist since 2012, enjoying collaborations with musicians, soloists, composers and other conductors. Conducting Aaron Dai’s The Night Before Christmas, first with B. D. Wong then Annie Golden narrating, he initiated, conducted and edited (in Premiere Pro) the orchestra’s 2020 remote performance, narrated by John Lithgow.

Blundell is Music Director of the Riverside Orchestra on the Upper West Side, rehearsing Mondays and performing five concerts each season. He also directs another outstanding community …

Ray likes to refer to himself as "made in New York!" Born on Manhattan's West 50th Street and raised in Queens by creative, artistic parents, he received his BBA degree from City College and his MA in Educational Theater from New York University. He was a New York City elementary school teacher for 31 years, teaching most grades, but ultimately choosing to work with children in creative programs, including pantomime, improvisation, puppetry, music, and dance. He was also the drama …

Active as a conductor, violinist, violist, pianist, and educator, Nell Flanders brings her dynamic musicality to performances in a wide variety of genres, from orchestral classics to contemporary music, tango, blues, and period instrument baroque. Ms. Flanders is currently the Director of Orchestral Activities at Idaho State University, where she leads the Idaho State-Civic Symphony and the ISU University Chamber Orchestra. From 2018-2021 she held the position of Georg and Joyce Albers-Schonberg Assistant Conductor with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, conducting …

Mark Seto leads a wide-ranging musical life as a conductor, scholar, teacher, and violinist. He is Artistic Director and Conductor of The Chelsea Symphony in New York City, and Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Music at Brown University, where he directs the Brown University Orchestra and teaches courses in music history, theory, and conducting. Highlights of his 2023-24 season include performances with violinist Itzhak Perlman, violinist Randall Goosby, and clarinetist Anthony McGill, and the inauguration of The …