John Morris Russell’s

Holiday Pops

10:30am

Friday, Dec. 16

Don’t miss “Mr. Christmas” as the BPO’s Principal Pops Conductor brings his signature style

to Western New York’s number one Holiday tradition. Ring in the holidays with hand bells, jingle

bells, Silver Bells, Carol of the Bells, Sleigh Ride, The Polar Express and so much more. The Buffalo

Philharmonic Chorus joins this annual extravaganza complete with an audience sing-along.

John Morris Russell, conductor

Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus (Adam Luebke, Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus music director)

Westminster Presbyterian Church Bell Choir (Dr. Steven Mayo, director)

African American Cultural Center

Amy Glidden, violin

Christophe Koenig, violin

Anna Mattix, English horn

Ayden Herreid, boy soprano

WILLCOCKS Ding Dong Merrily On High

Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus

Arr. Arthur Harris We Three Kings

SHAW/Bennett The Many Moods of Christmas, Suite 4. Break Forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light.

The First Noel. O Little Town of Bethlehem. I Saw Three Ships. Deck the Halls

Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus

HOWARD BLAKE “Walking in the Air” from The Snowman

Ayden Herreid

JOHN WILLIAMS “Somewhere in My Memory” from the movie Home Alone

Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus

ALAN SILVESTRI/ Suite from The Polar Express

Ballard/Brubaker

INTERMISSION

BIZET “Carillon” from Suite No. 1 from L’Arlésienne

JULIE TURNER & Gloria Hodie

KEVIN MCCHESNEY Westminster Presbyterian Church Bell Choir

LEONTOVICH/ Carol of the Bells

Barlow Bradford Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus

Westminster Presbyterian Church Bell Choir

ANDERSON Sleigh Ride

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BACH/Gounod Ave Maria

Amy Glidden and Christophe Koenig, violins

MANCINI Joy

JEFF TYZIK Mis zeh Hidlik (Behold the Lights)

Anna Mattix, English horn

Women of the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus

KATHERINE K. Little Drummer Boy

DAVIS/Rebecca Pellett Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus

African American Cultural Center

Arr. Michael Braz A Suite of Carols (Sing-Along)

Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus

REPERTOIRE

FRIDAY, DEC. 16

Westminster Presbyterian Handbell Choir was one of the first American handbell choirs,

with the first performance December 13, 1953 at the Annual Christmas Candlelight Carol Service. To-

day, the Handbell Choir includes fifteen ringers ranging in age from college to advanced retired status,

ringing five octaves of handbells and five octaves of chimes.

The African American Cultural Center’s Dance & Drum Performance Company is the

agency’s founding component. AACC founder Malcolm Erni believed that knowledge and understanding

of traditional West African rhythm and movement could help to revitalize his beloved East Side Buffalo,

NY community. Its mission is to provide authentic cultural exchange as a means of educational enlight-

enment. The company has developed under the direction of West African cultural artists and the influ-

ence of African American pioneers in the dance genre. The AACC Dance and Drum Performance

Company has performed before an estimated 200,000 people in New York, Ohio, South Carolina and

Ontario, Canada.

John Morris Russell is a modern conductor who engages and enthralls audiences with his or-

chestral experience. Mr. Russell’s diverse programming and electric stage presence brings great creativ-

ity and energy to one of the world’s most iconic pops orchestras. Russell has been named the Principal

Pops Conductor for the BPO starting from the 2015-2016 concert season. He is also a popular guest

conductor throughout the United States and has served as music director for other notable Symphony

Orchestras like The Windsor Symphony Orchestra, where he’s held the title of Conductor Laureate

for eleven years. Other ensembles he has worked with include: The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra,

for whom he also leads the Pops program, The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, The Toronto Phil-

harmonic Orchestra, The New York Philharmonic Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Vancou-

ver Symphony Orchestra and The Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra in South Carolina.

Amy Glidden has been the associate concertmaster of the Buffalo Philharmonic since 2000. A

native of Wichita, Kansas, she attended the University of Kansas, where she received a B.A. in Biology

as well as a B.M. in Violin Performance. Subsequently, she received a Master of Violin Performance de-

gree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. She has performed with the Phoenix Symphony, the To-

ronto Symphony, the Fort Worth Symphony, and the Canadian National Ballet Orchestra.

Christophe Koenig started playing the violin at age 4 under his current teacher, Amy Glidden.

He grew up in East Aurora and is a senior at East Aurora High School. In 2008, Christophe joined the

Greater Buffalo Youth String Orchestra and in 2012, the Greater Buffalo Youth Orchestra. Christophe

has been the GBYO concertmaster since February 2015.

Anna Mattix joined the Buffalo Philharmonic’s oboe section in June 2007 as an English hornist.

Prior to coming to Buffalo, she played principal oboe with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and Eng-

lish horn with the Owensboro Philharmonic. She has degrees from Ithaca College and Yale University

and is a doctoral candidate at Indiana University.

Featured Performers :

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Explore and Learn:

John Morris Russell delivers the fun of the holidays in an exiting

way that engages the audience. Making the members of the audience

a part of the experience is one of the things that makes his perform-

ances so compelling. He utilizes the power of music ability to bring

people together.

There are many examples throughout history when music has

had the effect of connecting members of a community. Can you

brainstorm other settings besides the concert hall in which music

brings people together?

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

As Buffalo’s cultural ambassador, the Grammy Award-

winning Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, under Music Direc-

tor JoAnn Falletta, presents more than 120 Classics, Pops and

Youth Concerts each year and reaches more than 42,000 K-12

students per year across all eight counties of Western New

York.

Since 1940, the orchestra’s permanent home has been

Kleinhans Music Hall, a National Historic Landmark designed

by Eliel and Eero Saarinen with an international reputation as

one of the finest concert halls in the United States.

JoAnn Falletta, Conductor

Friday Morning

Concert Series

BUFFALO PHILHARMONIC

ORCHESTRA

education@bpo.org