Hello Friends and Patrons of the Hornell Area Wind Ensemble,

Our Christmas concert is nearly upon us Saturday, December 16 at 7:30 PM in the Hornell Senior High
School Auditorium. This concert promises to bring smiles to your faces as we usher in the wonderful spirit
of the holiday season.

The following will give you some teasers as to what our program will feature. Thank you to Mr. Rex
Wiggers in providing program notes for me to work from. Mark A Smith will be the ensembles announcer
and Marissa Siciliano will be our featured vocalist.

Our first selection will be Celebration Fanfare by Steven Reineke. This fanfare is a highly spirited and
invigorating piece and is a perfect opener for a holiday season concert. If you listen carefully, you will be
reminded of a passage closely resembling John Williams Olympic Fanfare. The trumpets are prominent in
this piece which I feel pays tribute to Reineke, a trumpet player in his own right.

Following our opener, we will continue with a piece that is a favorite of many of the ensemble members. It
is Minor Alterations Christmas through the Looking Glass by David Lovrien. This piece is a musical game
of holiday hide-and-seek with well-known Christmas songs. It is a virtual medley of your favorite
Christmas tunes, transposed from major to minor keys then disguised, layered and hidden within the
music. So listen carefully. How many tunes will you recognize? You should be able to recognize fourteen!
Minor Alterations is very unique and words such as quirky, fun, inventive, and playful describe it very
well.

Thank goodness for the oldies. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn
transports us back in time. Styne, the composer, and Cahn the lyricist wrote this piece in 1945 in
Hollywood, California during a heat wave, of all things. Although the songs lyrics make no mention of
Christmas, it is played on radio stations during the Christmas season and has been, and still is, recorded on
Christmas themed albums. So as the title says, Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow.

Moving from selections we normally hear during the holiday season, we step into the realm of opera with
The Pilgrims Chorus from Tannhuser by Richard Wagner. The piece represents the penitential journey
of pilgrims as they travel to and from Rome to receive absolution. The noble aspirations of the penitents are
embodied in this song, which sings the praises of God's mercy and the peace obtained by those who atone
for their sins.

We Need A Little Christmas by Jerry Herman puts all of us right back into the festive holiday mood.
Herman was a composer/lyricist who was nominated five times for Broadways prestigious Tony Award,
winning twice. He is also a recipient of the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors for his lifetime contribution to
the arts. We Need A Little Christmas was written in 1966 for the Broadway musical, Mame, starring
Angela Lansbury. If one feels like singing along, that will certainly add to the spirit of the season.

The Sterling Brass Quintet will perform, with our vocalist, Marissa Siciliano, Jolly, Holly & Ivy, Inc. by
Larry Tallman. This piece was especially written by Tallman for Marian Murphy who performed it with
the wind ensemble in 1999. The piece is a jazz take off on the traditional Christmas melody, The Holly
and the Ivy. Tallman also arranged the piece in our program We Need A Little Christmas. The Sterling
Brass Quintet musicians are straight out of the wind ensemble: Jim Caneen on Tuba, Susan Dessena on
French Horn, Marie Schoenacker on Euphonium, Jeremy Ferris on Trumpet, and Chris Lynn on Trumpet.
Enjoy.

The Glory of Christmas Fantasia on Greensleeves arranged by Elliot Del Borgo is associated with the
Christmas season here in the United States. That association is due to the fact that in the 19 century
Greensleeves assumed new lyrics known to us as What Child is This? The history of this piece is rather
interesting, going as far back in time to Englands Henry V. The earliest reference of Greensleeves, is found
in Trinity College, Dublin, dated back to 1580. Like so many tunes of folk origin, it has been used by
countless composers down through the ages. Simply said, it is a very old tune.

In our October concert we brought you The Typewriter, a well-known and loved novelty piece, composed
by the person who also composed our next selection - A Christmas Festival by Leroy Anderson. Anderson
has instilled the joy, the celebration and the solemnity of Christmas in this wonderful collection of familiar
holiday pieces. You will recognize Joy to the World, Deck the Halls, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Good
King Wenceslas, Hark, The Herald Angels Sing, Silent Night, Jingle Bells, and Adeste Fideles.
Our next selection is our Christmas present to you. Santa Baby by Joan Javits, Phil Springer, and Tony
Springer was one of the first Christmas novelty songs. Written in 1953 when Christmas songs tended to be
nostalgic, Santa Baby took a different approach, with an attractive lady sitting on Santas lap telling the
jolly old elf about how shes been good all year and expects some very expensive gifts, including a fur coat,
a car a light blue convertible no less, and even a yacht. Originally recorded by Eartha Kitt, Santa Baby is
a tongue-in-cheek holiday favorite. A fun note: Miss Piggy also performed Santa Baby.

A Christmas concert can conclude only one way Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson. According to ASCAP,
this piece is the most popular classic holiday song worldwide. Sleigh Ride is also the only holiday song
originally written as an instrumental piece for a symphony orchestra. Anderson had the idea in 1946
during a heat wave think back to Let It Snow - and finished the work in 1948 in a cold, snowy
February! Lyrics were written later in 1950. So, step into your imaginary sleigh, grab the reins, make the
jingle bells jingle, and enjoy your ride.

Donna Caneen