Melrose Holiday Pops Celebrates the Season
By Patrick DeVivo
Photo from the Melrose Symphony Orchestra
The Melrose Symphony Orchestra and maestro Yoichi Udagawa were in high holiday spirits on Friday evening, December 13th at the first of two sold-out weekend holiday concerts by Melrose’s hometown orchestra. In response, the audience of Melrose friends and neighbors filled Memorial Hall with holiday-spirited camaraderie and civic pride.
The crowd, at first, took a little time to catch up with the maestro Udagawa’s bottomless well of joyful energy. The program began with a version of Leroy Andrson’s “Christmas Festival,” followed by “The Carol of the Drum March,” better known as “The Little Drummer Boy,” and a Boston Pops arrangement of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” The audience was fully on board by the time the program called for a nostalgic medley of songs that many of us have watched grow into holiday standards over the years, including “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Silver Bells,” and ”It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” At this point, some comic relief - a joke by the maestro about elves and holiday punch – and two selections from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker ballet carried the audience into the first intermission eager for more.
Those hopes were more than fulfilled when The Empire Trio joined the orchestra after intermission. The Trio is a classical crossover ensemble that proved to be a highlight of the evening. Soprano Erin Shields, baritone Adam Cannedy, and pianist/violinist David Shenton founded the ensemble in 2012 and since then have performed at over 300 settings in the United States and the United Kingdom, including Carnegie Hall and The Lincoln Center.
Photo from the Melrose Symphony Orchestra
The Trio began their Melrose debut with their arrangements of “The Christmas Song” and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” before providing the most moving moment of the night. Recalling the story of the Christmas Truce of 1914 when, during a holiday cease-fire early in World War I, Allied and German soldiers met in the desolate, battle-ravaged land between their opposing trenches and shared a simple game of soccer and holiday cheer before resuming the carnage of war, Ms. Shields and Mr. Cannedy beautifully captured the irony and tragedy of the story, by performing “Silent Night,” with alternating English and German lyrics. The audience repaid them with a standing ovation.
By now the evening's performance was at its height as the Trio shifted mood with a version of “Have Yourself a Merry Litle Christmas” that highlighted Mr. Shenton’s virtuosity on both piano and violin. A medley of holiday favorites followed, including an arrangement by Mr. Shenton of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” bringing the happy crowd to its second intermission.
The orchestra wrapped up the remainder of the regular program with a piece titled “Spinning Through the Ages: A Chanukah Tribute” followed by the traditional audience Christmas carol sing-along. The sing-along usually serves as the capstone to the evening. But this year, there was a sense of unfinished business with the Empire Trio and the audience seemed to confidently anticipate their return. Not to disappoint, the Trio returned for two encores, the first a poignant version of “Oh Holy Night” and the second an arrangement of “Sleigh Ride,” with maestro Udagawa happily relinquishing the baton alternately to the Trio members.
As the concertgoers spilled out of Memorial Hall into the cold night, friends and neighbors exchanged holiday well-wishes, carrying with them the spirit of the season, inspired by the preceding two hours of musical virtuosity and impassioned performance so close to home.
The Melrose Symphony Orchestra's next performance will be March Masterworks, on March 1, 2025, featuring Amy Beach’s Gaelic Symphony and Max Bruch's Violin Concerto in G minor. More information, and tickets, can be found on their website.
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