BYU Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band Combine for Annual Christmas Concert

The concert will also feature new tuba professor Dan Bryce as a soloist The BYU Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band will continue their tradition of Christmas celebration when they take the de Jong Concert Hall stage together on Dec. 6. Both ensembles will perform several pieces individually before joining forces for two numbers. The first of these combined pieces is “Jingle Them Bells,” a medley of variations on the classic “Jingle Bells.” “We take ‘Jingle Bells’ through a number of treatments,” said Wind Symphony director Don Peterson. “It becomes poignant, and then dramatic, and then it shifts to an almost bar mitzvah atmosphere. It’s fun for the band—we’re not used to playing ‘Jingle Bells’ in minor and changing up the rhythms so much.” The ensembles will close with Alfred Reed’s “Russian Christmas Music,” a piece that has become a staple for the annual concert, with Peterson and Symphonic Band director Kirt Saville rotating conducting duties from year to year. “We did ‘Russian Christmas Music’ four or five years ago for the first time, and the students asked that we do it again the next year,” said Peterson. “It’s a chance for both of our audition bands to sit side by side and enjoy playing a great piece together. There will be about 130 musicians on stage, and we’ll have church bells going off, chimes going in three parts of the auditorium and brass players from the Philharmonic Orchestra in the back of the hall. It’s a big ending.” As an additional highlight, Peterson and Saville are pleased to showcase new faculty member Dan Bryce when he joins the Wind Symphony on Robert Smith’s “Teutonic Tales.” Bryce is a BYU and Juilliard graduate, now returned to the School of Music as a professor of tuba and euphonium.    “One of the things that delights me the most about the opportunity to perform on tuba as a soloist is breaking down some of the stereotypes that are often associated with this majestic instrument,” said Bryce of his upcoming performance with the Wind Symphony. “So often the tuba is found providing the fundamental to a band or orchestra, and most people tend to think of it exclusively as an ‘oom pah’ instrument. It’s always wonderful to take the opportunity to showcase the mellow beauty, technical prowess and power of the tuba in a solo role.”   Tickets and Show Details Performance Dates and Times: Dec. 6 | 7:30 p.m. Location: de Jong Concert Hall, Franklin S. Harris Fine Arts Center, BYU Price: $7-11 Tickets: Available in person at the BYU Ticket Office in the HFAC or Marriott Center, by phone at 801.422.2981 or online at byuarts.com