12/11/2009
By GARY DEMUTH Salina Journal
A living Christmas card to the community.

That's how Salina choreographer and dance teacher Peggy Simms described the annual family holiday concert presented by the Salina Symphony.

"It's a tradition we're setting in Salina," she said.

This year's concert event will feature holiday music played by the Salina Symphony, vocal performances by the Salina Chorale, Kansas Wesleyan University Chorale and a children's vocal ensemble, and dance routines choreographed by Simms to Christmas classics.

To top everything off, there just might be a surprise visit from Santa Claus.

"It's one of my all-time projects to be involved in," Simms said. "It's very much about family and the Christmases that we remember. It's also time I get to spend with wonderful musicians and great dancers."

The concert will be at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts, 151 S. Santa Fe.

Each year, the Salina Symphony's holiday concert is designed to be a family friendly event with music selections that appeal to all ages, said Adrienne Allen, Salina Symphony executive director.

"This year, there's going to be lots of upbeat, short songs, along with dancers and a children's chorus," she said. "It's a fairly light concert that will keep young people entertained. It's something I feel comfortable bringing my little boy to, and he's just 5."

'Christmas at the Movies'

This year's holiday concert line-up includes "Christmas at the Movies," a selection of familiar holiday tunes from the silver screen performed by the Salina Symphony; a nontraditional version of "The Little Drummer Boy" featuring drummer and percussionist Dean Kranzler; sacred music performed by the Salina and Kansas Wesleyan chorales; and several holiday-oriented dance routines by Simms' dancers.

"We'll be doing 'Parade of the Wooden Soldiers,' which seems to be special for the audience," she said. "We're also doing a new one this year set to 'The Syncopated Clock,' which features a group of dolls and a doll maker."

A personal highlight for Simms will be a dance interpretation of "O Holy Night," featuring three former students, Erin DeBold, Jordan Martens and Alison Hiatt.

"It's one of the pieces I'm most proud of," Simms said. "The song has special meaning for me, and I have three of my best alumni doing it. They dance so well together."

Childrens vocal ensemble

Another first at this year's holiday concert was the formation of a children's vocal ensemble. Named the Holiday Singers, the ensemble consists of children from fourth through seventh grades conducted by Keri Boley, choir director at Southeast of Saline Junior-Senior High School.

"We wanted a treble choir of unchanged voices," Boley said.

The children auditioned for the group from various schools throughout the area, Boley said, but it didn't take long for the selected students to become a cohesive singing group.

"The choir is forming its own personality and is fun to work with," she said. "They're adding to the spirit of what's going to be an exciting program."

Ken Hakoda, conductor and music director of the Salina Symphony, said the music selections this year were designed to put everyone in the holiday spirit, from the audience to the performers on stage.

"This show involves a lot of people and a lot of kids, so I wanted it to be festive," he said. "I want to this become a tradition in this region, something the whole family can go to annually and a first-time symphony-goer can enjoy."

nReporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at gdemuth@salina.com.