University of Lynchburg’s holiday music concerts begin with the Concert Choir and Choral Union concert on December 1 and Carols by Candlelight on December 3. Check this story for details.
University of Lynchburg’s annual Wind Symphony and Orchestra holiday concert will transport audiences to a 1940s radio studio, where the Andrews Sisters, Glenn Miller, and others will delight them with Christmas music and messages from the World War II era.
“Homefront: Musical Memories from the 1940s” expands the theatricality of the annual concert. Set up like a wartime Christmas show by the United Service Organization, conductors and musicians will portray their counterparts from another era. Dr. Oeida Hatcher, director of the University of Lynchburg Wind Symphony & Orchestra, planned this year’s concert to showcase music that flowed from the United States’ involvement in WWII.
“Music played such a pivotal role in the war effort,” Dr. Hatcher said. “In WWII, musicians and artists were asked to step up and encourage the homefront, boost the morale of the guys who were at war listening to these broadcasts on the radio, and help raise the money to pay for the war.”
Audience members will be greeted by people dressed in WWII uniforms. In addition to the Wind Symphony and Orchestra, performers include the Community Big Band, directed by Chris Magee, and members of the University of Lynchburg Concert Choir, directed by Jeremy Craft. Swing dancers will take the stage during a jazz number. An audio visual production will blend the live music with images and speeches from the 1940s. In addition to popular songs from the era, the concert will feature classic Christmas carols as well as holiday favorites from the 40s.
“It’s a feel good concert,” Dr. Hatcher said. “It’s the Christmas story seen through the eyes of World War II.”
Public performances of “Homefront” will be held at 7:30 p.m. on December 6, 7, and 8 in Sydnor Performance Hall, in Schewel Hall. Call the music department office at 434-544-8344 to reserve free tickets.
Other holiday concerts at University of Lynchburg include the Concert Choir and Choral Union winter concert at 7:30 p.m. December 1 in Snidow Chapel; Carols by Candlelight, featuring the Concert Choir, at 7 p.m. December 3 in Snidow Chapel. Tickets are not required.
