Sinfonia Gulf Coast will present its popular annual holiday concert, “Orchestral Holiday” on Friday, Dec. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Destiny Worship Center.
The performance features Sinfonia’s full orchestra performing a wide-range of festive holiday favorites from traditional arrangements to Christmas carols scored in cinematic style to cherished classics by “Mannheim Steamroller.” Also featured on the concert will be more than 20 dancers from the Northwest Florida Ballet performing all of the highlights from Tchaikovsky’s timeless classic “The Nutcracker” live with Sinfonia.
“We are thrilled to partner with Sinfonia again,” said ballet Artistic Director Todd Eric Allen. “Dancing to a live symphony orchestra is a wonderful experience for our guest artists, Academie students and the community.”
Parents, make sure that your little ones haven’t been naughty so Santa pays his annual visit at the end of the performance!
Sinfonia board challenges students to “link up” with Carnegie Hall program
In collaboration with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI), Sinfonia Gulf Coast is one of 57 orchestras nationwide invited to participate in WMI’s Link Up program during the 2013-2014 season. Link Up pairs orchestras across the country with schools in their local communities, inviting them to learn about orchestral repertoire through a yearlong hands-on music curriculum.
Using curriculum materials provided free-of-charge by WMI, teachers guide students in exploring music through a composer’s lens, with students participating in active music making in the classroom, performing repertoire on recorder, violin, voice, or body percussion and taking part in creative work such as composing their own pieces inspired by the orchestral music they have studied.
The culmination of the yearlong program is a live performance in which students have the opportunity to sing and play the recorder along with Sinfonia Gulf Coast. This performance often serves as students’ first concert experience and provides them with the opportunity to apply the musical concepts they have studied. On May 2, 2014, more than 1,200 third graders from Walton and Okaloosa Counties will attend this interactive orchestra performance with Sinfonia Gulf Coast.
"Sinfonia's Link Up program, in conjunction with Carnegie Hall, provides Walton County third graders with an opportunity to participate in an excellent arts and culture curriculum that spans the school year, fosters musical development and performance and culminates in a hands-on, live symphony orchestra performance featuring Sinfonia Gulf Coast," said Alexis Tibbetts, Walton County Schools Coordinator of Curriculum Support. While the 2014 inaugural performance has already reached full capacity, teachers interested in the 2015 series should contact the Sinfonia office.
Sinfonia’s music education outreach has reached more than 37,000 school children in Okaloosa and Walton Counties and more than 750 families have been provided tickets through the Students4Free initiative. For more information, please go to www.SinfoniaGulfCoast.org or call (850) 269-7129.