December is the month of giving and the Royal Canadian Artillery Band is making the season a bit brighter and jollier for families.
The The Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) Band invites the public to an unforgettable evening of music in Home for the Holidays, a festive concert at the Winspear Centre on Monday, Dec. 12.
Based out of CFB Edmonton, the 27-member concert band will be joined by musicians from the Loyal Edmonton Regiment Band, HMCS Nonsuch, 408 Squadron and civilians, rounding out the numbers to 35.
The free concert will deliver an eclectic program of contemporary and traditional pieces. While most of the charts are Christmas tunes, the band also salutes the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
Due to pandemic-imposed provincial health regulations, this is the first time the RCA Band has performed to a full house at the Winspear since March 2020.
“For me this concert is a chance to play to over 1,000 people. The music is near and dear to our hearts. Sharing the gift of music with lots of people makes this concert so special,” said Warrant Officer Adam Gaw, a French horn player and assistant conductor.
Capt. Curtis Bain, who stepped up to the podium to replace Capt. Chris Embree in 2021, is the director of music and will lead the band while radio personality J’Lyn Nye, honorary colonel of 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, returns as master of ceremonies.
Two of the program’s most beloved selections are the Grammy Award winning soundtrack to The Polar Express and Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride, complete with jingling bells.
The two-hour concert starts on a high note with James Pierpont’s Jingle Bells. Legend states that Pierpont, a resident of Medford Massachusetts, wrote the song to commemorate the town’s annual Thanksgiving sleigh races.
However, the evening’s centrepiece is a 15-minute musical tableaux on How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
“Our narrator is going to be Sgt. Alistair Chaplin and we also have a vocalist, bombardier Brendan Catalano. You can also expect some antics and some surprises,” Gaw said.
Another bit of music storytelling comes in the form of Santa’s Journey.
“It’s a medley of lesser-known Christmas carols. They’ve been mashed together and try to depict Santa’s journey around the world.”
The band also introduces an arrangement of acclaimed American composer Stephen Bulla’s Rhapsody for Hanukkah. Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish celebration that commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the second century. Today’s menorah is a symbol of the historic event.
“Jewish music has a different flavour. It has kind of a Klezmer feel and it’s a bit darker. It’s not quite so bright and joyful as Christmas music. It’s a bit heavier.”
Although the concert is free, donations are accepted for the Edmonton Garrison’s Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC). The centre provides deployment support to military families and offers a variety of age-related programs.
The concert runs Monday, Dec. 12 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.at Winspear Centre, 4 Sir Winston Churchill Square. Admission is free but attendees must pre-register online for a seat at www.winspearcentre.com.
