Members of the Medicine Hat Concert Band rehearsing for their annual Christmas concert with conductor of the Andante Band leading them.--NEWS PHOTO SAMANTHA JOHNSON
reporter@medicinehatnews.com
The Medicine Hat Concert Band is holding its annual Christmas concert, On a Cold Winter’s Night, at the Esplanade on Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Both bands, the Andante Band conducted by Mark Ward and the Allegro Band conducted by Curtis Perrin, will be performing individually and together.
“We play separately, each group plays four or five numbers, half hour to 45 minutes, and we put the two groups together for the big finale,” explained Ward. The Andante band will be playing a combination of tunes with lots of Christmas favourites.
The Allegro Band will be performing a mix of secular pieces along with Christmas ones.
“Some tunes people know and some tunes they won’t,” said Perrin. “Some Henry Mancini, which is not Christmas related but people will know it. Just because a concert is in December, it doesn’t have to be all Christmas, as long as it’s good music people will enjoy themselves.”
There will be three sing-along pieces at the end of the concert: Happy Holidays, It’s the Holiday Season and Let it Snow. “Possibly, maybe a little bit of Silent Night in the middle if the audience is up for another one,” added Perrin.
The annual Christmas concert is always family friendly with a special ticket price for kids. For more information or to purchase tickets visit https://www.esplanade.ca/esplanade-exhibitions-programs-and-shows/on-a-cold-winters-night.
