The Cape Symphony Orchestra presents Holiday on the Cape on Friday, December 6, 2024 at 4:00 PM and 8:00 PM, Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 3:00 PM and 7:30 PM, and Sunday, December 8, 2024 at 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center.
Cape Symphony
Joe Marchio, Conductor
Cape Symphony Orchestra Musicians
Cape Symphony Dance Company, Michelle Chwastiak, Director
Mel Costa
Lillia DeCiccio
Grace Egmore
Julia Gallagher
Lydia Garrison
Miya Henderson
Mikaela Idrovo
Charlotte (Charlie) McCann
Ella McNeill
Maia Mercurio
Gemma Mills
Liliana Raciti
Eva Schroeter
Abigail Siggins
Gemma Soares
Bih Timoh
Charlie Mae Vaneria
Annika Waynen
Lia Waynen
Cape Symphony Youth Orchestra, Mark Miller, Conductor & Music Director
Guest Artists
Chatham Chorale
Scarlett Strallen, Soprano
Table of Contents
Tickets for “Holiday on the Cape”
Program
A CHRISTMAS SCHERZO
Arr. Don Sebesky
WE NEED A LITTLE CHRISTMAS
Jerry Herman, Arr. Mark Hayes
WINTER WONDERLAND
Felix Bernard, Arr. Cy Payne
IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR
Edward Pola, George Wyle, Arr. David Clydesdale
MUSIC FROM THE POLAR EXPRESS
Alan Silvestri, Arr. Jerry Brubaker
ROCKET SLEIGH
Delvyn Case
A CHANUKAH FESTIVAL
Mark Miller
HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS
Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin; Arr. Lucas Waldin
MUSIC FROM HOME ALONE: MERRY CHRISTMAS, MERRY CHRISTMAS
John Williams
Intermission
SLEIGH RIDE (Saturday shows only)
Leroy Anderson
OVERTURE TO A MERRY CHRISTMAS
Robert Wendel
ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH
James Chadwick, Arr. Donny Nolan
JINGLE BELLS
Jack Pierpont, Arr. Paul Hemmer
O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL
Arr. Dan Forrest
DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR
Gloria Shayne Baker, Arr. Keith Michael Davis
STILL, STILL, STILL
Robert Wendel
“HALLELUJAH CHORUS” FROM MESSIAH
George Frideric Handel (orch. Ebenezer Prout)
O HOLY NIGHT
Arr. David Clydesdale
SING WE JOYOUS
Arr. Gary Fry
JINGLE BELLS FOREVER
James Pierpont, John Philip Sousa, Arr. Robert W. Smith
Please note the program is subject to change.
About Today’s Program
Your Cape Symphony Orchestra opens “Holiday on the Cape” with flair, swinging right into Don Sebesky’s “A Christmas Scherzo.” You might recognize Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella; Adeste Fideles; The Holly and the Ivy; I Heard Three Ships on Christmas Day; and O Tannenbaum in this jubilant medley. Sit back and let the merriment begin!
Originally from Jerry Herman's Broadway musical Mame, “We Need a Little Christmas” was arranged for orchestra and chorus in signature style by Mark Haynes. The Chatham Chorale joins the Orchestra for this holiday gem.
We are thrilled to have Broadway sensation Scarlett Strallen on the Cape Symphony stage! She’ll first sing “Winter Wonderland.” This is Cy Payne’s arrangement of the 1934 Felix Bernard favorite. Over the years, the song has been covered by over 200 different artists, including Guy Lombardo, Johnny Mathis, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett (with and without Lady Gaga), Elvis Presley, and Ringo Starr. Enjoy the whimsical winter romance!
Scarlett is joined by the Chatham Chorale for “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” Radio stations often use this song to initiate their flip to the holiday music format each year. Office supply giant Staples has famously co-opted the tune to mark back to school season, which is funny – but we love this David Clydesdale arrangement best!
Audiences are in for a real treat as the Cape Symphony Dance Company takes the stage to Jerry Brubaker’s arrangement of music from The Polar Express. Each concert will feature a cast of dancers aged 6 to 15. They will perform a piece created especially for the occasion, sure to inspire the spirit of childlike wonder within us all: “Just remember, the true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart.”
How does Santa deliver THAT many presents to THAT many children all in one night? Composer Delvyn Case thinks a “Rocket Sleigh” might be involved. Audiences around the world love this brilliant contemporary overture. Close your eyes and imagine a sleigh shooting across the sky!
The Cape Symphony Orchestra is delighted to perform “A Chanukah Festival,” composed by our very own Mark Miller! You may recognize Mark as our Principal Clarinetist; he is also Music Director and Conductor of the Cape Symphony Youth Orchestra. “A Chanukah Festival” was written with a good-humored nod to Leroy Anderson’s “Christmas Festival,” which Mark calls “the best medley ever written.” The piece premiered to tremendous applause at 2023’s Holiday CapePOPS! concerts. For this year’s performances, it has been expanded to include a choral component to be sung by the Chatham Chorale. Enjoy!
Scarlett Strallen returns to the stage for “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Since its introduction by Judy Garland in the 1944 musical Meet Me in St. Louis, this beautiful song has been covered countless times, including by Frank Sinatra, Tori Amos, Chicago, Michael Bublé, Sam Smith, Sabrina Carpenter, and John Legend. We’re partial to the Strallen/Cape Symphony version. “Have yourself a merry little Christmas/Let your heart be light/From now on our troubles will be out of sight…”
John Williams’s Oscar-nominated score made Home Alone an iconic Christmas film. This wonderful music perfectly captures the playful soundscape of Christmas, evoking all the feelings of the holiday and communicating its warmth and meaning as well. It is the very sound of childhood mischief and magic! The Cape Symphony Orchestra will perform “Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas” with the Chatham Chorale.
Intermission: 20 minutes
At Saturday’s concerts, the second half of our program begins with Leroy Anderson’s light orchestra standard “Sleigh Ride.” While not originally written for Christmas, “Sleigh Ride” has come to embody the cheery, festive spirit of the holiday. Anderson is said to have had the inspiration for the piece during a July 1946 heat wave! “Sleigh Ride” was first performed by Arthur Fiedler’s Boston Pops in 1948, and has become one of that orchestra’s signature songs. The Cape Symphony Youth Orchestra will play this piece alongside the Cape Symphony Orchestra. Our young musicians are honored to share the stage with the professional orchestra, and we couldn’t be more proud of them!
At Friday’s and Sunday’s concerts, the second half of our program begins with Robert Wendel’s “Overture to a Merry Christmas,” a classical Christmas suite weaving together the overture to Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro with “Joy to the World” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem” to beautiful effect.
The Orchestra and the Chorale will next perform Donny Nolan’s arrangement of “Angels We Have Heard on High,” a Christmas carol to tune of the hymn “Gloria,” in turn based on a traditional French song about the scene outside Bethlehem at the nativity with paraphrased English lyrics by James Chadwick.
No holiday season is complete without “Jingle Bells,” one of the most commonly sung Christmas songs in the world. Did you know it was written right here in Massachusetts? James Lord Pierpoint penned the tune at Medford’s Simpson Tavern in 1857. It has no original connection to Christmas, and may actually have been intended as a drinking song. Scarlett Strallen joins the Orchestra to perform this Paul Hemmer arrangement.
“O Come, All Ye Faithful” is usually credited to John Francis Wade, an English Catholic living in exile in France, who first published it in 1751. As with many very old Christmas hymns, its exact origins and sources are lost to the ages, but its message, beauty and powerful emotional appeal endure to this day. Dan Forrest’s arrangement is especially effective, building to a magnificent, enchanting conclusion.
“Do You Hear What I Hear” was written in 1962 by the wife-and-husband team of Gloria Shayne (music) and Noël Regney (lyrics) as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Bing Crosby made it a huge hit, and it has since been covered by hundreds of artists including Andy Williams, Diahann Carrol, Jim Nabors, Robert Goulet, and Whitney Houston. Scarlett Strallen and the Chatham Chorale join the Cape Symphony Orchestra to perform Keith Michael Davis’s beautiful arrangement.
The Orchestra returns to the terrific talents of Robert Wendel for “Still, Still, Still,” an exceptional arrangement of a traditional Austrian carol. Fun fact: During his time at the University of Connecticut, Robert Wendel was a private student of Leroy (“Sleigh Ride”) Anderson’s!
Next comes a high point of our Holiday on the Cape concert, as the Orchestra and the Chatham Chorale perform the “Hallelujah Chorus” from George Frideric Handel’s Messiah. The word “hallelujah” is a Hebrew interjection, used as an expression of praise and gratitude and repeated in exultation in this incomparable piece of music. Messiah, an English language oratorio first performed in Dublin in 1742, has become one of the most frequently performed choral works in Western music, and its Hallelujah Chorus is famous as a powerful stand-alone piece, with brass, timpani, and voices soaring to the heavens.
As our concert nears its conclusion, Scarlett Strallen will sing “O Holy Night.” Originally based on a French poem, this song was adapted into English by John Dwight in 1855. “O Holy Night” has been performed by many singers from operatic to pop, but truly lends itself best to gifted classical talents. Strong feelings are woven into the piece, and it’s not unusual to see audience members dabbing their eyes as it builds and builds.
“O Holy Night” is a tough act to follow, but we can do it together! The audience is welcome to join in on “Sing We Joyous,” a delightful medley including “Deck the Halls,” “Up on the Housetop,” and “Jolly Old St. Nicholas.”
Cape Symphony’s Holiday on the Cape wraps in high spirits, as “Jingle Bells Forever” will have you marching into the season with joy!
Thank you for coming to our concert. From all of us at Cape Symphony, our very best wishes to each of you for a warm and merry holiday season and the happiest of New Years.
Tickets for “Holiday on the Cape”
“Holiday on the Cape” will be performed at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center, 744 West Main Street, Hyannis on Friday, December 6, 2024 at 4:00 PM and 8:00 PM, Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 3:00 PM and 7:30 PM, and Sunday, December 8, 2024 at 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM. As of Tuesday, December 3, there are only tickets left for the shows on Friday at 8:00 PM and Sunday at 5:00 PM.
For more information or to purchase any remaining tickets, visit capesymphony.org, call the Box Office at 508.362.1111, email
Only tickets purchased on Cape Symphony’s secure website or through the Cape Symphony Box Office are legitimate, guaranteed, and eligible for exchanges or credits in accordance with our ticket policies.
Behind the Scenes
Cape Symphony Board of Trustees and Staff
Thanks to markhayes.com, IMDB, delvyncase.com, wendelmusic.com, Wikipedia
