December 16, 2024

Like Nutcracker, Holiday Pops is another of an orchestra’s most important concerts of the year and for the same reason. We see people in our audience for this concert that are either new, or this is the one concert they attend each season. Either way, we love seeing them there.
 
We had a packed house at the Wharton Center yesterday. The program was mostly the usual traditional favorites, but things unfolded a bit differently in the second half. Our friends from the Transcendence Performing Arts Center joined us, along with gospel greats “The  Singletons“ and some students from the Detroit School for the Performing Arts.
 
Our partner in organizing this program was LaVonte´ Heard, who is the Artistic Director at TPAC. LaVonte´is a terrific musician, a wonderful singer and outstanding conductor. We had been working with him for a few years now to make this partnership happen.
 
I mentioned that things unfolded a bit differently in the second half. Well, at first, the flow was similar to any of our holiday pops.  After intermission we began with the Singletons doing a nice medley of holiday tunes, then a Donny Hathaway song called “This Christmas”.  A lovely arrangement of “Christmastime is Here” followed, all exquisitely done. This is a wonderful group of singers, and they had the audience hanging on every phrase.
 
Just to back up a bit, when LaVonte´and I were planning this program, he had suggested an arrangement of “Glory, Glory, Glory” that finishes with “Go Tell it on the Mountain.” This arrangement was done by gospel legend Moses Hogan. I thought it would be nice to have LaVonte´ conduct the work, to feature him on the program in this capacity. He also sang some Handel on the first half, quite beautifully I might add.
 
Well, to say it would be “nice” to feature him is a huge understatement. If ever there was a literal “show stopper” it was this performance. After they cut off the final chord, the audience went wild. They immediately jumped to their feet…not the polite kind of standing ovation that follows most concerts these days, but the kind where they clearly just wanted to jump up and shout, and it went on and on. It was an astounding, authentic, deeply-felt reaction to an astounding, authentic and deeply-felt performance given by LaVonte´and his wonderful singers. 
 
It definitely stopped the show, but fortunately, they all had more to give for the rest of the program and give they did. It was an afternoon of soul-stirring and uplifting, inspiration. What better way to find the spirit of the season.
 
Next Up
 
January 10, 2025
 
Lansing Symphony Orchestra
Corbin Wagner, horn
Wharton Center for the Performing Arts
East Lansing, Michigan
7:30 p.m.

Jared MILLER            Teaser-Feature-Pleaser    WORLD PREMIERE
RESPIGHI                     Trittico Botticelliano
HAYDN                        Symphony N. 43 “Mercury”
R. STRAUSS                 Horn Concerto No. 2
 
#lavonteheard #transcendenceperformingartscenter #thesingletons
​#lansingsymphony