NEW CASTLE Symphony's program looks a lot like Christmas

A highlight of the show was jazz versions of popular Christmas songs.
BY JERRY STEPHENS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW CASTLE -- Despite the lack of snow over the weekend, it was still looking more like Christmas as the Pittsburgh Symphony, one of the two internationally known orchestras in the area, journeyed to New Castle for a Christmas program.
The musicians brought their holiday cheer to the Scottish Rite Cathedral auditorium Saturday.
On paper, one Christmas program often looks very much like another, yet they almost never sound alike. The differences in arrangers, interpretations and guest participants ensure that.
What really counts, though, is whether everyone, audience and performers alike, all have a good time. And all had fun in New Castle that evening.
Conductor
The conductor was Daniel Meyer, an Ohio native, who is in his first season as assistant conductor of the Pittsburgh orchestra. He was born in Cleveland and received his music education at Dennison University in Ohio and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
He was obviously in full control of the orchestra. The directors of the Cleveland Orchestra should take note of this.
Guest artists included the Grove City College Choir, directed by Dr. Douglas Browne, and Gary Kline, who teaches voice and directs the Musical Theater Workshop at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama. He has sung leading roles in many modern musical plays.
The Grove City College Choir combined precision and expression, which today is not often the case. Too many well-known choruses seem to emphasize precision at the expense of expression. One could also understand the words they were singing, another plus.
A special guest
There was supposed to be another guest soloist. That was Kevin Glavin, who sang the role of Don Magnifico in the Pittsburgh Opera's hilarious production of Rossini's "La Cenerentola" (Cinderella) in October. He was indisposed, and Santa Claus was his replacement. However, Santa Claus looked and sounded suspiciously like basso buffo Kevin Glavin.
I said that most Christmas programs were similar. That is not exactly so. There was a very good jazz version of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas," both sung by Santa Claus. There also was a comic song done by soloist Gary Kline. This was "Twelve Days After Christmas."
In it, he chops down the pear tree, shoots the partridge, uses the three French hens for chicken soup -- well, you get the picture.
There was a missed opportunity. With the presence of the women of the Grove City College Choir, they could have done the seldom-performed and very lovely Waltz of the Snowflakes from the "Nutcracker" along with the other three selections from that composition.
A flaw
There was a flaw in the performance. The Scottish Rite Cathedral is obviously not well-suited for the performance of compositions for orchestra and chorus, and the Grove City Choir seemed lost behind the orchestra.
They tried to correct this by amplifying the chorus, but they must have come onto the stage cold. The results were never truly satisfactory.