JSO plans festive concert to begin holiday season

Continuing a holiday tradition, the Jackson Symphony Orchestra will present a Holiday Pops Concert and Sing-a-long at 4 p.m. Dec. 5 at the First Church of the Nazarene, 3905 Clinton Road, Jackson.

The Jackson Chorale, Children’s Choir and First United Methodist Church Chancel Choir will join the orchestra to present seasonal favorites and that will inspire young and old with the spirit of the season. The audience will be encouraged to join in on popular songs such Christmas Song, It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, Joy to the World, Deck the Halls and O Come all Ye Faithful.

“The orchestra looks forward to continuing this annual observance in a new venue with a new audience," said JSO Music Director Stephen Osmond. “The selections, as well as the audience participation, are designed to put everyone into the holiday spirit.”

“The Chorale will sing a Christmas bells medley of Ding Dong Merrily on High and Carol of Bells as well as a beautiful arrangement of Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” said Wendy Treacher, Music Director. “The Chorale also will present the King’s Singers / Mormon Tabernacle Choir arrangement of the the Twelve Days of Christmas.”

The Children’s Choir will join the Chorale and Orchestra for a new version of The Little Drummer Boy. Ask the Moon and Hanerot Halalu, a song about the lights of Hanukkah, are the other songs the Children’s Choir will perform.

“The symphony orchestra’s holiday concert is the high point of the holiday season for the Children’s Choir,” said Director Jackie Livesay. “Singers and families are looking forward to it.” About 32 children in grades 4-8 will participate.

The First United Methodist Church Chancel Choir plans to sing Christmas Is Coming, Rejoice, and The First Noel.

Baker College and County National Bank are sponsoring the concert.

Tickets are $10 for children and students with identification. Adult tickets are $15.

They may be purchased online at http://www.jacksonsymphony.org/; by phone at 517-782-3221; or in person at the JSO Box Office, 215 W. Michigan Ave., downtown Jackson.

NOTE: The Jackson Symphony Orchestra is a community resource providing performances of the classics and popular music, a community music school with private and group instruction and numerous educational programs for students of all ages. The organization owns a 30,000-square-foot facility in the heart of downtown Jackson which not only serves as an administrative, rehearsal, and recital performance space for the orchestra but also is home to the Jackson Youth Symphony, the Jackson Chorale and Children's Choir, the Michigan Shakespeare Festival and JSO Community String Ensemble. The orchestra primarily performs at the world-class Music Hall of the Jackson Community College Potter Center and other venues in town including several churches, the County Fairgrounds and Michigan Theatre.

JSO on WKAR 11/17/10

The Jackson Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Schultz, will play the "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis" by Ralph Vaughan Williams at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, November 17 on 90.5 Classical. The Orchestra was recorded live in concert February 13, 2010 in the Potter Center Music Hall at Jackson Community College.

“Not Just for Kids” Artwork on display at the JSO

Take a stroll downtown and come in and view the artwork by seventeen area artists. Their work is on display at the Jackson Symphony Orchestra Music Hall at 215 W. Michigan Ave., downtown Jackson. The public is invited to enjoy the artists’ interpretations of the music from “Peter and the Wolf” and “Carnival of the Animals” during regular business hours, Mon.-Thurs. 10-5 PM, Fri 10-1 through December 15. Or the pieces can be viewed online at www.JacksonSymphony.org.

Jammin' at the JSO - November 26

Melodic, experimental rock for all ages - in Jackson


– Jammin’ at the JSO
7-11 p.m. Friday, November 26th at the Jackson Symphony Orchestra Hall, downtown at 215 W. Michigan Ave. $4 cover charge.

Sterratic - This will be the band's first performance. Kind of pop, kind of punk

Admiral Apricot and the Marigolds - Jackson's local garage fuzz-punk group, appearing as a 3 piece this time!

theillalogicalspoon - Headed up by local musician Jeremy Siegrist. Folk music meets punk and poetry. This band is very unique, and they have a message that needs to be heard.

Secret Twins - A duo from Ann Arbor. This band has excellent experimental vocals that pair surprisingly well with the raw sound of just one electric guitar and a drummer.

The Templetons - A group consisting on two Jackson born and raised musicians, a reunion show of sorts.

The cover is $4 at the door. Come enjoy a great musical performance and support local music!

Leisure Suits

For those of you unfamiliar with this weekend's guest, Craig Richard Nelson, you wish to check out this clip from Fernwood Tonight.

Spooktacular Piano Concert

Join us for a "Spooktacular Piano Concert" on Saturday, October 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the JSO building. Piano students of Carol Ivkovich will be presenting this recital. It's our first recital of the year. This is a great opportunity for students to experience performing in front of others in a fun, safe atmosphere - hiding behind costumes is always a big hit! Join us for a fun evening!

Greg Sandow's Blog

From Greg Sandow's blog:
Go to his blog at http://www.artsjournal.com/sandow/ for comments and further posts about the JSO.

Something new


Still catching up. I want to talk about my visit to Jackson, MI a couple of weeks ago (and apologies to my old and new friends there, who might have expected to see something about them here earlier).

The outline: Stephen Osmond, an old friend of mine from graduate studies at the Yale School of Music (he was a tenor, I was a composer), is both music director and executive director of the Jackson Symphony. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, but no way. Steve is outstanding in both roles. And fearless, I must say, in confronting his orchestra's future. Like most orchestras, they face diminished funding as they look at their future. Steve faces that manfully, and brought me out to help with what seems to be needed, a new way of engaging with the city of Jackson.
I'll have more to say on what happened at my visit, and, how, exactly, an orchestra might engage the community. But since time is tight today, I'll start with something really terrific that the orchestra is doing, something I've never encountered before.

Like many orchestras, they have a composer in residence, Jonathan Bruce Brown, chair of the music department at Spring Arbor University, near Jackson. Bruce (whom I enjoyed meeting during my visit) is a good choice, I think. His expertly crafted music is a pleasure to hear, and I'd guess goes down well with both the orchestra and the audience.

But get this -- the way the orchestra is introducing the piece they've commissioned from Bruce this year. It'll be premiered on the last concert of the season. And at each concert before that, Bruce will come on stage and present his work at whatever stage it's reached. That won't mean performing the entire work in progress (which might, at any stage, be a work in fragments). But Bruce will talk about the piece, and maybe the orchestra (or individual musicians) will play parts of it.

I think this is a fabulous idea. I heard the first installment, at the first concert of the year (an engaging glimpse at various aspects of romantic music, featuring Ian Hobson making his expert way through the Schumann piano concerto). All Bruce did was talk about what he was going to do -- what the piece would be, and what the preview process would be like. He was hard to resist, and I'm sure he drew everyone in. At the next concert, I'm sure all the subscribers will be wondering what he'll have to show them.

As I said, I've never run into this idea before. Has anyone else ever done it? If so, I'd love to hear about it. Certainly it's an idea that others should steal.