Holidays come early to San Bernardino

Two Grammy Award winning artists will be featured in the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra annual holiday concert, but this year’s performance will be a bit earlier than usual. A full month earlier, in fact.

“As renters of the California Theatre, we are subject to the availability of the venue,” said Symphony Executive Director Dr. Anne Viricel. “So last year when we found December wasn’t available to us, we decided to expand the concept of holidays outside those that generally occur in that month.”

The result was an eclectic blend of beloved music from Halloween, Dia de los Muertos, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas. And within this repertoire decision process came a holiday gift for all: featured performances by Broadway vocal legend Jennifer Holliday and virtuoso cellist Lynn Harrell.

“Can you imagine a more exciting start to the holiday season?” asked Symphony Board President Dean McVay. “We are thrilled to be able to give this gift to the people of the Inland Empire and we hope the entire community will join us for this history making concert!”

So, on November 16 at 7:30 p.m., the California Theatre will be filled with the sound of celebratory music from a variety of special days. Audiences will hear excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker along with Bloch’s Schelomo: Hebriac Rhapsody for Solo Cello and Orchestra. In the same half, they will hear Elfman’s Nightmare Before Christmas, and America’s Got Talent vocalist Angelio Garcia will perform Lopez’s Remember Me from Coco. In the second half of the performance, Ms. Holliday will reprise some of her best known Broadway songs, including And I am Telling You and I Am Changing from Dreamgirls.

“November’s concert reaches into the heart of nearly every family in the Inland Empire,” added Maestro Parnther. “Jennifer Holliday and Lynn Harrell are two world famous and beloved musical icons that bookend a concert filled with hope and beauty. We can’t wait to perform for our community!”

The November 16 concert is the second of six major performances scheduled for the Symphony’s upcoming season. January 18, 2020 brings American Legacy: A Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. featuring soprano Lettrice Lawrence, bass-baritone Bradley Baker, and tenor Jacob Lusk, along with the powerful sounds of the Selah Gospel Choir. February 22, the Symphony will perform Cirque de la Symphonie bringing awe-inspiring acrobatics choreographed to Classical music to the stage alongside orchestral musicians.

A March 15 matinee will highlight works by Tchaikovsky, Mozart, and Grieg, including a solo performance of Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto by Maestro Parnther. The season will close May 2 with From Stage to Screen, a tribute to the golden age of Hollywood with movie scores from Bernard Hermann and a tribute to Judy Garland by Emmy-nominated vocalist Angela Ingersoll.

These concerts will all be held at the historic California Theatre of the Performing Arts, 562 W. 4^th Street, San Bernardino. Concert tickets – including money saving “Second Chance Season” tickets and a “Select Three” option – are currently on sale and may be purchased at www.sanbernardinosymphony.org or by calling (909) 381-5388. Students and active military tickets are just $15. General admission tickets are $30, $45, $55, and $65.