Philharmonic captivates audience

12/07/03    By Brien Murphy / Abilene Reporter-News Staff Writer
 

If the Abilene Philharmonic couldn’t put you in a holiday mood Saturday, then you’re a Grinch and a Scrooge.

From the opening notes of four high school choirs to Charles Nelson’s baritone narration of The Night Before Christ-mas, to the audience Christmas song sing-along, Saturday’s concert was full of festive fun.

Under the baton of guest conductor Carl Topilow — the Cleveland Pops Orchestra conductor who plays candy-colored clarinets — the philharmonic whipped through two hours of Christmas and Hanukkah tunes both sacred and secular.

Topilow, who has conducted in Abilene twice before, again made the concert an event. He encouraged audience members to jingle their car keys on Sleigh Ride, taught a quintet of children to play toy instruments for Toy Symphony, and proved his musical mettle on Clarinet Candy and a jazz version of Jingle Bell Rock. The crowd loved it.

I sang in my high school choir. We never sounded as good as the choirs from Abilene, Clyde, Cooper and Wylie high schools did on Silent Night and We Need a Little Christmas. Topilow graciously led the much-deserved applause for the young singers. Their respective choir conductors deserve kudos for preparing them well. (The battery-powered candle lights the young singers held on their opening number in the darkened auditorium was a nice touch.)

For the first time in several years, the orchestra played Hanukkah music at its holiday concert, and invited Marc Orner to tell the Hanukkah story. So we got a little lesson with our entertainment.

Someone should record retired music professor Nelson’s booming narration of Clement C. Moore’s poem, The Night Before Christmas. They could sell more than a few copies.

Not to be outdone by the extras, the orchestra gave its usual professional, musically satisfying performance.