WT holiday events include Festival of Lights, concerts, opera, more

CANYON — Tis the season to be busy.

Those who are looking for a boost in their holiday spirits with festivities and music will find plenty of options in Canyon next week, with several Christmas-themed concerts and activities at the West Texas A&M University (WT) campus and the city of Canyon's celebration on the calendar.

Upcoming events include the WT Chamber Singers concert, WT Opera performances, President Walter V. and Mary Wendler's annual Christmas reception, the Festival of Lights, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum’s Christmas Open House, Canyon Chamber of Commerce’s Christmas in Canyon events, the Parade of Lights, fireworks and more. Read about each event below for more details.

Christmas events in WT, Canyon to Include Festival of Lights, community celebrations

WT will join forces with the city of Canyon to officially kick off the holiday season.

The community is invited to join WT students, faculty and staff at President Walter V. and Mary Wendler’s annual Christmas reception from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 29 in Legacy Hall inside the Jack B. Kelley Student Center. The party —which is open to the community, as well as WT donors — will offer hors d’oeuvres and a hot chocolate bar, plus music from the WT Jazz Quartet.

Immediately following the reception, the community is invited to attend the Festival of Lights around the Buffalo Fountain on the Charles K. and Barbara Kerr Vaughan Pedestrian Mall in the heart of the WT campus. More than 115,000 bulbs will twinkle all around campus, a nearly 44 percent increase over last year. Trees, shrubbery and buildings all around campus will be illuminated.

The WT Chamber Singers will perform holiday music, then lead a singalong at the end of the festivities. Speakers will include President Wendler; Canyon Mayor Gary Hinders; WT Student Body President Filiberto Avila, a senior digital communication and media major from Spearman; and Ransom Collette, president of the Residence Hall Association and a junior mechanical engineering and mathematics major from Big Spring.

Santa Claus will arrive via a Canyon Fire Department firetruck and will be available for family photos.

Bucky will hand out red and green glow necklaces, and cookies, hot chocolate and cider will be served. Children can enjoy a petting zoo, obstacle course and bounce houses. Participating student organizations include Hispanic Student Association, WT Spectrum, Ceramics Club, the Office of Student Engagement and Leadership, F1RSTGEN, the Darlings of WT, and others.

A new, unwrapped toy can be brought to Festival of Lights for the Hispanic Student Association’s Toy Drive. Donors will receive two tickets to any regular-season home WT basketball game this season.

The WT Festival of Lights began in 1990 and, other than 2020, has been held annually as the Residence Hall Association’s longest-running tradition.

Then that weekend, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum’s Christmas Open House will run 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2.

The Canyon Chamber of Commerce’s Christmas in Canyon events will kick off at 4 p.m. Dec. 2, including the Parade of Lights at 6:30 p.m. around the downtown square, followed by the lighting of the Canyon Christmas tree and fireworks.

WT Concert, Symphonic Bands to give free performances Nov. 29

Beloved classics and contemporary works are each on the bill for a night of music at WT. The University’s Concert and Symphonic Bands will perform at 6 and 8 p.m. Nov. 29, respectively, in the Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus. Admission is free.

Both ensembles — comprised of music and non-music majors alike — will share works by iconic composers and modern masters.

The Concert Band, under the direction of Dr. Russ Teweleit, professor of music education, will perform “Folk Dances” by Dmitri Shostakovich, transcribed by H. Robert Reynolds; “Life Stream” by Frank Ticheli; “October” by Eric Whitacre; “Inferno” by Robert W. Smith; and “A Deep Reverberation Fills with Stars” by John Mackey. The performance of “Inferno” will be dedicated to the composer, who recently died.

The Symphonic Band, under the direction of Don Lefevre, associate professor of music and director of bands, will perform “Passacaglia in Primary Colors” by Michael Daugherty; “Irish Tune from County Derry” by Percy Allridge Grainger; “The Frozen Cathedral” by Mackey; and Concerto for Wind Ensemble by Kevin Day.

A portion of the Symphonic Band’s concert is a preview of its upcoming 16th appearance at the Texas Music Educators Association convention in February.

WT Opera to stage holiday classic ‘Amahl and the Night Visitors’

WT's Opera will stage a beloved holiday production in its first performance of the fall.

Students will present “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” an American opera about a detour taken by the three kings on their way to witness the birth of Jesus, at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 in the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus.

Tickets are $10 for the general public and free for WT students, faculty and staff with a Buff Gold Card.

“This opera is a great fairytale of the Christmas season with its anticipation of the birth of Christ,” said stage director Dr. Robert Hansen, Regents Professor of Music. “My goal is to make it playful as a way of highlighting the miracle that occurs in the show.”

The one-act opera, composed by Gian Carlo Menotti, originally was produced on NBC in 1951, the first opera specifically written for television in the United States. It became a holiday tradition on the network and continues to live on in stage productions.

“There’s so much personality in it,” said Sauncy Reddick, a senior music education major from Beaver, Oklahoma, who will play Amahl in the Dec. 1 performance. “It feels very accessible to modern audiences.”

In the opera, kings Kaspar, Melchior and Balthazar stop for a rest on their journey to Bethlehem. They’re taken in by Amahl and his mother, whose hospitality greatly touches the magi.

“They can see the struggles of the mother, and they’re very grateful that she still offered what she could to us,” said Eduardo Guaderrama, a master’s student in choral conducting from Friona, who plays King Melchior in the Dec. 1 concert.

Hansen promises a “charming” production. “The music is beautiful, and the story is so touching,” he said.

WT recital to feature ‘Compelling’ Works by long-overlooked composer

Works by a composer overlooked in her time will be featured in an upcoming recital at WT. “The Music of a Stifled Voice,” featuring compositions by Fanny Hensel, will be performed at 3 p.m. Dec. 2 in the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus. Admission is free.

The concert will feature, from WT’s School of Music, Dr. Choong-ha Nam, professor of piano; Emmanuel Lopez, Periman Distinguished Artist and Harrington Lecturer in Cello; and Evgeny Zvonnikov, Harrington Lecturer in Violin. Also performing is cellist Alejandra Attebury.

Hensel composed some 500 pieces, but she was in the shadow of her much more famous brother, Felix Mendelssohn, and only recently has her music begun to get recognition, Nam said.

WT Chamber Singers to give free holiday concert

WT's Chamber Singers will welcome the holiday season with its Christmas concert at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 in the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus. Admission is free.

“Many of our numbers will be beloved classic carols arranged with some twists and turns,” said Dr. Sean Pullen, director of choral programs and professor of music in WT’s School of Music. “The intimacy of the FAC recital hall makes a great setting for this concert, which is sure to bring the holiday spirit to our audience.”

Among the selections are “Joy to the World” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” along with several other classic holiday favorites.

Hark, hear the bells: WT Orchestra’s annual Christmas Concert set for Dec. 3

Joyous carols will ring out at the WT Symphony Orchestra’s annual holiday concert.

“I Heard the Bells! Music of the Christmas Season,” in conjunction with the WT Choirs, will be performed at 4 and 7 p.m. Dec. 3 in Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus.

Admission is free, but tickets are required.

“From timeless carols to contemporary favorites, experience the spirit of the season through the magic of music,” said Dr. Mark Bartley, director of orchestral activities, the Lilith Brainard Professor of Music and associate dean for music in the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities. “Bring your loved ones and immerse yourself in the festive ambiance, where the twinkling lights, joyful tunes, and — yes — the bells create a perfect harmony of Christmas magic.”

Angela Allen, WT’s director for engaged citizenship, will narrate Mack Wilberg’s “Longfellow’s Christmas.”

“We’re delighted to collaborate with Angela for the first time,” Bartley said. “Her authoritative voice brings the tale of how Henry Wadsworth Longfellow came to write his 1863 poem ‘I Heard the Bells’ to life. That origin story is the centerpiece of our rendering of the beloved carol based on it.”

The WT Harp Studio — directed by Dr. Jenny Miller, WT instructor of harp — will welcome the audiences with prelude music.

Also performing are the Palo Duro High School Chorale and Chamber Singers, under the direction of Mark Bailey.

The WT Choirs, under the direction of Dr. Sean Pullen, professor of music and director of choral activities for the School of Music, will perform Pullen’s arrangements of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “O, Happy Day!”

Also on the concert bill are compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Matt Riley, Ēriks Ešenvalds and more, including “Silent Night,” “Carol of the Bells,” “Russian Christmas Music” and more.

Those who can’t attend in person can still see “Music of the Christmas Season” when it airs 8 p.m. Dec. 22 and 10 p.m. Dec. 24 on Panhandle PBS.

Fostering an appreciation for the arts is part of the university’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World, which is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign. It reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised more than $150 million.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Christmas-themed activities abound at West Texas A&M University