Making merry with music

Anyone who has purchased a ticket to the St. Albert Community Concert Band and Saint City Big Band's annual Winter Concert is in for a lively, eclectic evening of music.

With the holiday season in full swing, the concert is an opportunity to tackle old standards and add new works to the canon.

Taking place at the Arden Theatre on Dec. 9, the two-part evening features assorted tunes such as the majestic O Magnum Mysterium paired with the bootie-shakin' Latin melodies of Hot Sauce.

Olé!

The 17-piece jazz band opens the concert with a series of sleek, upbeat tunes geared to put everyone in the Christmas spirit.

To create that old-fashioned holiday vibe, music director Jean-Francoise Picard is showcasing soprano vocalist Janine Bremault Bamford.

A singer with a classical background who has worked her way into pop, rock and jazz, Bremault Bamford's vocal acrobatics stretch across a two and one-half octave range.

She will sing the slow and memory-laced Something About December as well as the more animated Everybody is Waiting for the Man With the Bag.

"It's great to work with these guys. You can tell they enjoy what they do and it carries through in the music. We feed off the energy from each other and it elevates the performance," said Bremault Bamford.

Picard's jazz musicians also trade off wintery favourites such as the swing tune Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas and Here Comes Santa Claus with the more avant-garde Blue Monk popularized by pianist Thelonious Monk.

This is also the first major performance for the St. Albert Community Concert Band since their summer tour at the Mid-Europe Music Festival in Schladming, Austria.

The concert band will feature a few Christmas selections and in a departure from past seasons, share three refreshingly new pieces of music they brought back from Austria.

The European works include Jubilate, a pop-sounding march with a movie soundtrack feel; Terezka Polka, a lively traditional pop-style polka; and Gallant Zouaves, a military style-march with a brilliant fanfare.

Music director Dr. Angela Schroeder also programmed more energetic and playful material in the way of I Saw Three Ships, Three Ayres Gloucester and an Irving Berlin Christmas medley.

"This is going to be a spectacular concert," said spokesperson Colleen Dec.

"This is our 45th season. We're showcasing spectacular music we had the opportunity to play in Austria. We're also bringingg traditional carols and there is more to come."