From Riders in the Sky to ‘Nutcracker,’ live performance abounds at holidays
Ready, set, celebrate.
One hallmark of the season in the Fresno area is that events with a holiday theme tend to get bunched up in the first two weekends of December. If you wanted, you could turn yourself into a Christmas marathoner, going almost non-stop with concerts, plays and events. Here’s a selective look at some of the possibilities.
Music
Riders In The Sky’s tour that stops 7 p.m. Dec. 14 at the Tower Theatre is “Christmas the Cowboy Way.”
That’s the name of the concert, and also a fitting description of what you’ll hear from the Western music/comedy troupe. The band coined the phrase “the cowboy way” in the late 1970 and it remains the essence of how the band operates — like a Gene Autry, Roy Rogers revival.
With Riders in the Sky, fans get some yodeling with the Christmas carols. The band will play its holiday originals (song like “Riding Home On Christmas Eve,” “Deck The Bunkhouse Walls” and “The Last Christmas Medley You’ll Ever Need To Hear”) plus classics like “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” The audience will be asked to sing along. Tickets for the show are $35-$45. Details: (559) 485-9050, www.towertheatrefresno.com
Other holiday music highlights:
9th Annual Jurassic Christmas Jam,New Rock 104.1’s company Christmas party,
Fresno Holiday Jam,
“Peter White Christmas,”
“How the Grouch Stole Christmas”
Concerts
The Fresno Philharmonic celebrates the season 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, with its annual holiday pops concert. Guest conductor Larry Blank takes the stage with guest vocalists Christina Saffran, Damon Kirsche and the Fresno Community Chorus Master Chorale under the direction of Anna Hamre.
Tradition is the name of the game at this concert, with “Sleighride,” Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus, traditional carols and other music of the season. Blank, a three-time Tony-nominated orchestrator known for his Broadway orchestrations for “Catch Me If You Can,” “White Christmas” and “The Drowsy Chaperone,” will lead the orchestra in his arrangements of “Santa Baby,” “Let it Snow” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
Tickets are $15-$79. Details: www.fresnophil.org, (559) 261-0600.
Another major choral event: The San Joaquin Chorale will perform with almost 150 singers accompanied by a brass quintet and percussion in its annual Christmas concert 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, at Shaghoian Hall. A central part of the program will be Kevin Memley’s “Magnificat,” a piece originally commissioned and premiered by Hamre at Fresno State.
The concert will also include a variety of familiar Christmas pieces including “Sleigh Bells,” written for the Canadian Brass, and audience-participation traditional Christmas carols.
The Chorale has been holding a Christmas concert for more than 35 years. Tickets are $15 general, $10 students and seniors. Details: www.fresno.edu/christmasconcert.
Other concert highlights:
Musica VivaTuba Christmas
Fresno Grand Opera’s
Bach Children’s Choir Fresno Community Concert Band
Earl Meyers
2nd Street Brass,
www.threeriversperformingarts.org
Clovis Community Band
Events
It’s Christmas time for history buffs.
Fresno’s Meux Home (built in 1889) and Kearney Mansion (built in 1903) are offering turn-of-the-century holiday experiences.
Kearney Mansion — the five-structure estate located in the midst of the 230-acre Kearney Park — will run hourly guided tours from 1-3 p.m. Dec. 5-7, Dec. 12-13, Dec. 19-21 and Dec. 27-28, plus an open-hour reception (with holiday music and treats) 1 p.m. Dec. 14. Tickets are $6-$10. Details: (559) 441-0862 or www.valleyhistory.org.
The Meux Home — the two-story Victorian home at R and Tulare streets in downtown — will be decorated to portatray the characteristics of each member of the Meux family. There’s a Christmas tree in every room. Tours of the home are noon to 3 p.m. weekends through December. Admission is $3-$5. The museum will host a special $35 Christmas “Tea-luncheon” 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6. Details: (559) 233-8007, www.meux.mus.ca.us/index.html
Other event highlights:
Fresno Chaffee ZooTower District
Downtown Fresno Christmas Parade
Nation’s Christmas tree
Theater
With the song “New Deal for Christmas,” the musical “Annie” has become a holiday favorite. In the new Children’s Musical Theaterworks production of “Annie Jr.,” you’ll hear such classic tunes as “It’s the Hard Knock Life” and “Maybe.” The show is double cast, which means you’d potentially be able to see two Annies (Maya Sosa and Allie Jeschien) belt out “Tomorrow” at different performances.
The show runs Dec. 5-14. Tickets are $14-$22 adults, $10 children. Details: www.cmtworks.com, (559) 442-3140.
Other theater/dance highlights:
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”“The Nutcracker.”
This story was originally published December 4, 2014 at 2:00 PM with the headline "From Riders in the Sky to ‘Nutcracker,’ live performance abounds at holidays."