The glorious sounds of Christmas will once again echo through the halls of Saint Patrick’s Church in Mount Dora on Friday, December 9, with a special Christmas concert by the Florida Lakes Symphony Orchestra. In what promises to be an awe-inspiring and melodic spectacle, “Holiday Lights” carries on the legacy of the orchestra’s founder, Guy Saint-Clair and will begin with our secular favorites and crescendo to spiritual sounds that surely will send your Christmas spirits soaring. I had the pleasure to attend these holiday concerts in the past and this year’s promises to be even more spectacular with the ballet and choir additions planned for the performance.
The concert program, led by conductor Michael J. Garasi, begins with Rimsky-Korsakov's "Polonaise" from the "Christmas Eve Suite" with the Mount Dora Junior Cotillion. Following that will be "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," "The Christmas Song" aka "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire," "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" with the Mount Dora School of Ballet, and ending Part I will be “It's Christmas Time" featuring a medley of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” I'll be home for Christmas,” and our beloved "Frosty the Snowman."
After a brief intermission to grab hot chocolate and cookies on sale in the back of the church, Part II of the “Holiday Lights” program begins with "Adeste Fideles;" Christmas medley including “Silent Night,” "Joy to the World," to name a few; Guy Saint-Clair's arrangement of "O Come Emmanuel" followed by Vaughan Williams’ "What Child is this?" What is surely to be one of the most enlightening and moving performances of the night is "O Holy Night” performed with soloist Tara Rowell and the choir.
Florida Lakes Symphony Orchestra’s co-founder Audrey Sanders had this to say about the final two pieces in the program: "The orchestra will perform Guy Saint-Clair's arrangement of the Saint-Saens' ‘Organ Symphony’ featuring Howard Fowler as soloist. This is followed by Handel's ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ with the participation of local church choirs. The audience is invited to participate as well. It may seem unusual to include the Saint-Saens’ ‘Organ Symphony,’ but I thought because it is based on the ‘Dies Irae’ of the Gregorian funeral Mass, it would give depth to the celebration and perspective when followed by the ‘Hallelujah Chorus.’"
“Holiday Lights” begins promptly at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, December 9 at St. Patrick’s Church at 6803 Old Highway 441 South (Highland St.) in Mount Dora, Florida. Tickets run $42 in advance or $45 at the door. If you can’t make it on Friday, the Florida Lakes Symphony Orchestra continues the sounds of Christmas in a special outdoor Christmas concert on at 1:30 p.m. on December 10 at the Apopka Amphitheatre located at the Northwest Recreation Complex in Apopka. Tickets for this outdoor Christmas concert run $30 and $15 for students under 18. For more information, visit FloridaLakesSymphonyOrchestra.com or call 352-589-1500.
The Florida Lakes Symphony Orchestra, now in its 7th season, is comprised of 60 musicians from around the world who now call Florida home. They perform throughout the year in a number of venues but mainly Saint Patrick’s Church in Mount Dora and South Lake High School in Groveland.
GuySaint-Clair’s legacy continues with four more concerts planned for the first half of 2012:
- “Waters of the World”—Mount Dora on January 12 and South Lake on January 13.
- “Tribute to Guy Saint-Clair”—Mount Dora on February 16 and South Lake on February 17.
- “La Chaim”—Mount Dora on March 22 and South Lake on March 23.
- “Magical Journeys”—Mount Dora on April 26 and South Lake on April 27.
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