Vancouver Symphony’s Holiday Concert plays to packed house

The Vancouver Symphony delighted a nearly full-house at SkyView Concert Hall (December 10) with a program of popular movie music and Yuletide favorites. To top things off, the front edge of the stage was lined with Christmas swag and some members of the orchestra sported red stocks, scarfs, bow ties, and cummerbunds. Led by music director Salvador Brotons, the orchestra played each piece with vim and vigor, culminating with the “Radetzky March” in which the maestro had everyone in the audience enthusiastically clapping along with the music.

The concert launched with Hans Zimmer’s music from “Gladiator” in a colorful arrangement by John Wasson. A rainstick, chimes, and other percussive instruments molded the lighter sections of the piece. They contrasted well with the forceful march that staggered forward and gained speed until thundering climatically in the finale.

“Themes from 007: A Medley for Orchestra” in an arrangement by Calvin Custer cycled through a number of famous tunes from the James Bond films. The smooth sound from the drum trap set augmented the sightly jazzy style of the selected numbers with the exception of “Live and Let Die, which was more pop-rock - ish. All sections of the orchestra had a leading line at one point or another, but the horns (“For Your Eyes Only”) and the brass (“Goldfinger”) had the biggest moments.

Bob Krogstad included some foot stomping by the musicians in his arrangement of music from “Frozen.” Brief solos featured the trombone, English horn, clarinet, bassoon, and others. One song was cleverly closed out by the flute and tuba. Concertmaster Stephen Shepherd excelled in his exposed passage, and you could see heads of listeners moving in rhythm to the mega hit “Let It Go.”

Custer’s “Tribute to Henry Mancini” captured the whimsy of “Baby Elephant Walk,” the nostalgia of “Charade” and “Days of Wine and Roses,” the swing of “Pink Panther,” and the hard-driving “Peter Gunn.” A sea-shanty-like melody threaded Ted Ricketts’ arrangement of music from “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.” Principal flutist Rachel Rencher delivered a lovely solo and the brass led the orchestra into a swashbuckling finale with the percussion and timpani pummeling like crazy.

The orchestra went into high gear with John Williams’ “Star Wars: Suite for Orchestra.” The famous opening theme soared, the marches were unrelentingly assertive, the Princess Leia’s Theme was graceful, and Yoda’s Theme noble. The audience ate it up and rewarded the piece with thunderous applause.

For its Christmas treat, the orchestra played Leroy Anderson’s “A Christmas Festival.” As it traversed through a number of beloved carols and holiday songs, I could hear people around me lightly humming along.

For Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride,” Brotons relinquished his baton to Eric Choltco, who was the highest bidder in the orchestra’s fund-raising gala for the opportunity to conduct the ensemble. Choltco acquitted himself nicely on the podium, and trumpeter James Smock got some chuckles from the hall when he created the whinny at the end of the piece.

In a nod to Vienna, the orchestra performed Johann Straus Jr’s “Tristch-Tratsch Polka” (Chit-Chat Polka) with a light step. It always catches everyone by surprise when the musician collectively let out a hoo!

Johann Strauss Sr.’s “Radetzky March” has become a crowd favorite over the past few years, and with Brotons genuine, encouraging style, concertgoers really got into it big time this year and followed his directions for clapping pretty darn well. In fact, the forte clapping went to double or triple forte! Participants can later tell their friends that they performed with the Vancouver Symphony under Brotons!

On the way back to my car in the parking lot, I overheard lots of positive comments from listeners, especially from youth who were absolutely thrilled by the pieces on the program, the orchestra, and the conductor. They didn’t know all that much about orchestral music, but they loved what they heard. I emailed the orchestra’s executive director and principal clarinetist, Igor Shakhman, and he said that the Sunday afternoon performance was sold out. If you consider the online ticket sales, then this weekend’s edition of pops concerts might have been the best ever for the orchestra. Congratulations are in order for a job well done by all involved.