Long Beach Symphony Orchestra's Holiday Pops!
-LolaGOLB@gmail.com
Despite the stormy weather, I braved the drive with mom and boyfriend in tow and attended the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra’s Holiday Pops! Celebration this past Saturday, December 12, at the Long Beach Convention Center. I’ve always wanted to attend a Christmas concert and when I found out that our very own city had one, I was sold. (I was sold again when I purchased tickets from Ticketmonster.)
The great thing about this musical ensemble was that it was a Pops orchestra, which for some, is easier to digest than a regular orchestra because it’s less formal, more fun and less high-brow, including instruments such as electric guitars and a drumset. The choir was comprised of several vocal groups, including the Southern California Master Chorale, OCHSA .comm Dancers, Southern California Children’s Chorus and a guest vocalist (who sounded a little too much like a lounge act, but had a good voice overall).
The evening opened with a “Winter Medley,” sung by groups of singers who appeared to be gathered on a cold winter night and continued on with various Christmas favorites, such as “The Christmas Song,” “The Night Before Christmas,” “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Carol of the Bells.”
“Carol of the Bells,” besides being one of the best Christmas songs ever just because it sounds semi-sinister, was performed by the Azusa Pacific University Handbell Choir—which absolutely stole the show. (Here’s a little taste until you hear it performed live: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0XdZkpaUe4). If you’ve never seen a handbell choir perform, seek one out, or at least YouTube it. Live really is the way to go, though. For this song, a pocket in the ground opened up and slowly rose until they were level with the rest of the stage. The lights dimmed and they took their hands out from behind them to reveal glow-in-the-dark gloves. Their hands danced up and down to make just the right tones at the right times to pull the song off perfectly.
Overall, this was a good experience. The only thing that could have made it better was if it were more of a dressy occasion—and in New York, and if the dancers were replaced with actual Rockettes.
Unfortunately, they only had two show dates this year, so be sure to look them up next year at www.lbso.org.
The great thing about this musical ensemble was that it was a Pops orchestra, which for some, is easier to digest than a regular orchestra because it’s less formal, more fun and less high-brow, including instruments such as electric guitars and a drumset. The choir was comprised of several vocal groups, including the Southern California Master Chorale, OCHSA .comm Dancers, Southern California Children’s Chorus and a guest vocalist (who sounded a little too much like a lounge act, but had a good voice overall).
The evening opened with a “Winter Medley,” sung by groups of singers who appeared to be gathered on a cold winter night and continued on with various Christmas favorites, such as “The Christmas Song,” “The Night Before Christmas,” “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Carol of the Bells.”
“Carol of the Bells,” besides being one of the best Christmas songs ever just because it sounds semi-sinister, was performed by the Azusa Pacific University Handbell Choir—which absolutely stole the show. (Here’s a little taste until you hear it performed live: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0XdZkpaUe4). If you’ve never seen a handbell choir perform, seek one out, or at least YouTube it. Live really is the way to go, though. For this song, a pocket in the ground opened up and slowly rose until they were level with the rest of the stage. The lights dimmed and they took their hands out from behind them to reveal glow-in-the-dark gloves. Their hands danced up and down to make just the right tones at the right times to pull the song off perfectly.
Overall, this was a good experience. The only thing that could have made it better was if it were more of a dressy occasion—and in New York, and if the dancers were replaced with actual Rockettes.
Unfortunately, they only had two show dates this year, so be sure to look them up next year at www.lbso.org.
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