Let music fill your holidays! From traditional carols to twists on the classics, music can soothe the soul and add joy to the season. The holidays are filled with excitement which can also increase your stress. A concert gives you a reason to sit still for a while. Coordinate your calendar with one or more of these
seasonal musical events. Take along a friend or family member to magnify your enjoyment.
Tacoma
For a collage of seasonal delights for all ages with songs both classic and traditional, join the Symphony Tacoma Voices and the Tacoma Youth Chorus at Pantages Theater. Symphony Tacoma brings Hallelujah! which is the well-known choral work, Handel’s Messiah. It’s a stirring work originally presented during Easter but has become a Christmas classic.
symphonytacoma.org
PLU’s University Singers with Knights Chorus present the Sounds of Christmas in Lagerquist Concert Hall.
plu.edu/choir
Federal Way
Federal Way Performing Arts Center has several possibilities. Get a head start on the season in November. Jake Shimabukuro’s Christmas in Hawaii will delight anyone. His repertoire ranges from O Holy Night to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Soak up the good cheer with the ambassador of aloha.
In late November, take in Cirque Musica Holiday Wonderland. This musical journey will transport you to magical lands. Be dazzled by acrobats, aerialists, and
amazing feats.
fwpaec.org
December kicks off with a holiday concert that includes big band music of symphonic favorites with seasonal surprises. Included in the program are two British choral works: Gustav Holst’s Christmas Day and Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Christmas Carols. Afterwards, join the tree lighting in the Federal Way Town Square.
federalwaysymphony.org
Swing into a blend of blues and New Orleans jazz with Davina and the Vagabonds. You’ll be merry and bright with the acoustic bass, drums, lively trumpet, trombone horn section, and keyboard.
tacomaartslive.org
Olympia
SOGO, Student Orchestra of Greater Olympia, offers The Brass Choir Ho Ho Holiday Show at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Join the 23rd annual Community Messiah Sing-Along at the Washington Center.
washingtoncenter.org
Olympia’s Harlequin A Christmas Carol sounds like music, but it’s not. It is, however, music to the heart as the story of ultimate redemption unfolds in front of you.
harlequinproductions.org
End the holiday season and celebrate the incoming year with the Olympia Symphony Orchestra’s More John Williams Movie Music! concert on December 31. The pieces are not carols but familiar scores from movies, which bring their own blend of enthusiasm and emotions.
olympiasymphony.org
BY MARY ELLEN PSALTIS