While holiday cheer is already filling the airwaves on many radio stations, a few of West Windsor and Plainsboro townships’ own residents will be part of a slew of holiday concerts scheduled around the area in the coming days.##M:[more]##
On Saturday, December 6, the Central Jersey Wind Ensemble, lead by Nick Santoro and featuring Plainsboro resident Scott Hawkinson and West Windsor resident Joseph Hetman among the 40-member band, will be performing classic holiday concert band favorites beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on Route 571 in Princeton Junction.
The musical selections include arrangements of traditional carols, a medley of Sinatra holiday tunes, and Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride,” which will be performed on woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments. The program is free and open to the public, although the audience will have the chance to make donations benefiting the United Way of Greater Mercer County.
There are two holiday concert events also scheduled for Sunday, December 7, that also feature the talents of some local performers.
The Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra, the community orchestra based in the West Windsor and Plainsboro area, and directed by Chiu-Tze Ling, will present its concert at 7 p.m at the Princeton Alliance Church on the corner of Scudder Mills and Schalks Crossing roads.
Chiu-Ling Lin, a West Windsor resident who is Chiu-Tze Lin’s sister, will be the soloist performing the Gershwin Piano Concerto in F during the concert. Lin, a former United States Artistic Ambassador to Latin America, has given her solo debut performance in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegia Hall, and has soloed with numerous orchestras in the United States and around the world, including the Atlanta Symphony, the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony, and the Des Moines Symphony.
Penny Luan, Philip Pugh, Garreth Dicker, Jessica Yan, Julie Yan, Cheryl Peng, and Elizabeth Randolph are West Windsor and Plainsboro residents who will also be performing in the concert.
Also at the concert, a community chorus, along with the orchestra, will present three selections from Handel’s Messiah — “Glory to God,” “For Unto Us a Child is Born,” and the “Hallelujah Chorus.”
The holiday concert, which will also include the Prokofiev Lieutenant Kije Suite and the Strauss Blue Danube Waltz, comes as the orchestra celebrates its first anniversary.
The 12th annual Children’s Concert, presented by the West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South Orchestra Department, is also scheduled for Sunday, December 7. The concert this year features music from Broadway. The Camerata will be performing Grease, the Lion King, and Phantom of the Opera, while the Philharmonia will be performing the Sound of Music, Showboat, Fiddler on the Roof, and Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World. The Philharmonia will also be performing a short movement of Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 2. High School South senior Jeff Yang will be singing and playing the ukulele.
The event is interactive, as the audience members, including younger children, are invited to move to the music through dancing, marching, and other activities. Showtimes are 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. at High School South.
Concert, Central Jersey Wind Ensemble, Prince of Peace Church, 177 Princeton-Hightstown Road, West Windsor. Saturday, December 6, 7:30 p.m. Free-will donations to benefit United Way of Greater Mercer County invited. 609-799-1753. popnj.org.
Holiday Concert, Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra, Princeton Alliance Church, Scudders Mill and Schalks Crossing roads, Plainsboro. Sunday, December 7, 7 p.m. $12. 732-580-3979. bravuraphil.org.
Childrens Concert: Broadway, High School South Symphony Orchestra, High School South, West Windsor. Sunday, December 7, 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. $7. 609-716-5050.
