Posted November 19, 2018
DAYTON, OH (November 19, 2018) – On Friday, December 7 and Saturday, December 8 at 8 pm in the Mead Theatre of the Schuster Center, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, under the leadership of Conductor Patrick Reynolds, will present Hometown Holiday, the second concert in the Kettering Health Network 2018–2019 SuperPops Season.
For this year’s Hometown Holiday concert, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra will be joined on stage by vocalist Felita LaRock for a beautiful celebration of the holiday season. Then, choirs and choruses from the region will gather together with the DPO for an uplifting holiday tribute that will have concert-goers elated that they are “Home for the Holidays” in Dayton.
The Hometown Holidays concert will begin with the celebratory composition “On Christmas Day” by Steven Amundson, followed by a warmly melodic work by Matthew Peterson entitled “Dawn: Redeeming, Radiant.” Next, the Kettering Children’s Choir, under the direction of Mark Jauss, will perform an inspiring holiday selection with the full Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.
The DPO will then be joined by jazz singer and Dayton local Felita LaRock, who has made a few appearances with the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance in the last few years, both as part of the local Dayton band Moment’s Notice, a pop and jazz group entirely composed of former United States Air Force bandsmen, and as guest vocalist with Billy Novick and the Blue Syncopators for last season’s The Great Gatsby with Dayton Ballet. Ms. LaRock will infuse some holiday nostalgia with a special arrangement of “Little Girl Blue” by Rodgers and Hart.
Award-winning hometown a cappella ensemble Eleventh Hour from Kettering Fairmont High School takes the stage with a selection of holiday hits, including Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas” and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
Then, some of the finest local chorus and choir singers across the Dayton and Miami Valley region, including members of the Dayton Philharmonic Festival Chorus, will come together to celebrate the holidays by taking the stage together as the Holiday Pops Community Chorus, singing some of the great sacred music of the Christmas season. The Holiday Pops Community Chorus comprises members from the following regional choruses and choirs: Epiphany Lutheran Church, Kirkmont Presbyterian Church, St. John’s Lutheran Church, Dayton Celebration Chorus, St. Luke’s Catholic Church, Normandy United Methodist Church, Grace United Methodist Church, and Peace Lutheran Church. The Sinclair Community College Concert Handbell Choir will also take the stage to delight with their precision and interpretation of some holiday favorites.
Perry Como captured the true spirit of Christmas when he first recorded “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays” in 1954 –”If you want to be happy in a million ways, for the holidays you can’t beat home, sweet home.”
Tickets for the December 7 and December 8 performances of Hometown Holiday start at $24 and are available at Ticket Center Stage (937) 228-3630 or online at www.daytonperformingarts.org. Senior, teacher and student discounts are available at the box office. For more information or to order subscriptions, including flexible subscription types that include performances by Dayton Philharmonic, Dayton Opera and Dayton Ballet, visit www.daytonperformingarts.org.
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About the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance
The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance was formed in July 2012 as the result of a groundbreaking and innovative merger between the Dayton Ballet, the Dayton Opera, and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Together, they are the largest performing arts organization in the community, offering a tremendous variety of performance and education programs and setting a new standard for artistic excellence. Dayton Performing Arts Alliance performances are made possible in part by Montgomery County and Culture Works, the single largest source of community funds for the arts and culture in the Miami Valley. The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance also receives partial funding from the Ohio Arts Council, a state agency created to foster and encourage the development of the arts and to preserve Ohio’s cultural heritage. Funding from the Ohio Arts Council is an investment of state tax dollars that promotes economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohio residents. In 2013, The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance was thrilled to be one of five performing arts organizations in the country selected to receive a three-year “Music Alive” grant from New Music USA and the League of American Orchestras. The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance is the proud recipient of a 2017-2018 Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.