Orchestra shows holiday spirit

The Conway Symphony Orchestra, the Arkansas Festival Ballet and the Central Arkansas Children’s Choir wowed the packed crowd in Reynolds Performance Hall Saturday night.
“Ladies and gentleman, welcome to our Christmas concert,” conductor Israel Getzov  said. “We hope our music tonight gets you in the Christmas spirit.”
Getzov began the program with “A Christmas Festival” and “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.”
Getzov then led them into a more up-tempo song, “A Rockin’ Christmas,” which sounds jazzy with its smooth strings and beating drums.
“Let’s take things a little bit upbeat,” he said. “This is one of my favorites.”
Some soloists stood during their performances.
“Christmas is about many things, and one of them is the children,” Getzov said as the Central Arkansas Children’s Choir took the stage.
The 33-child choir sang “One December, Bright and Clear.”
Getzov introduced the next song, “Stille Nacht,” as a “classical children’s Christmas piece.”
The young audience got excited when a special guest appeared on the stage. Santa Claus strolled over to the drums and gave them a big bang, sending giggles throughout the room.
Getzov challenged Santa to try conducting.
Santa led the orchestra in “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
Camille Lambert, 6, said she didn’t know Santa was coming.
“It surprised me,” she said.
Santa greeted children in the lobby during intermission.
“I asked him for a hamster and he said he’d do his best,” Lambert said.
The Arkansas Festival Ballet danced its way through the hearts of the audience as it performed “The Nutcracker.”
Getzov wished the audience a wonderful 2012 as he introduced “Sleigh Ride,” the last song of the night.
“For our final piece, let’s have some fun,” he said, as he was joined on stage by all the dancers.
The orchestra and dancers took their final bow and the magical night came to an end.
The Conway Symphony Orchestra’s website said it exists to create meaningful experiences while providing high-quality, professional musical performances for the Central Arkansas community.
The Arkansas Festival Ballet is a ballet company that adds to the cultural community in Central Arkansas through performances featuring local and professional dancers.
The Central Arkansas Children’s Choir is a community choir for singers in fourth through ninth grade. They encourage musical literacy and performance by offering a challenging, high-quality choral experience for its members.