Festive entertainment at PSU

PSU Opera Theatre/Amahl and the Night Visitors

Lincoln Recital Hall (Room 75)

$8 general, $6 seniors, youth and PSU faculty

PSU Jazz Ensemble

Lincoln Performance Hall

$10 general, $8 seniors, youth and PSU faculty

Symphony Orchestra

Lincoln Performance Hall

$10 general, $8 seniors, youth and PSU faculty

We here at the Vanguard are very aware that finals are coming up and you have a lot on your mind right now.

However, we must warn you that your parents are expecting you to come home for the holidays, and this coming weekend may be your last chance to engage in a cultural big city event. Trust us, at home there will be leisure time enough to watch the snow fall outside, light a fire and eat cashews until your heart stops. In fact, with the exception of a few hours of spirited paper-tearing, I can assure you that you will have plenty of time to do nothing and will be wishing that you had gone out for some holiday culture in Portland. That is why, before you board that bus back to your mid-Oregon hometown, you should make sure to indulge in some of the fine holiday festivities scheduled around the PSU campus.

Although the weather does not seem to be feeling any holiday spirit, PSU’s fine art programs apparently are. With any luck, you were able to catch the epic Holiday Concert performed by the University Choir and PSU Wind Symphony with guest organist an Miller and the Mt. Hood Community College Symphonic Choir. As anyone who attended will point out, the highlight of the evening’s concert was the large group’s rendition of English composer John Rutter’s majestic piece “Gloria.” With 122 voices accompanying the brass and organ, the piece was as dynamic and exciting as the composer could possibly have hoped when he wrote the score.

However, if you missed the event, there are plenty of other cultural opportunities in the upcoming weekend.

Dec. 6 and 8, the PSU Opera Theatre will be presenting Gian-Carlo Menotti’s holiday classic “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” The brief but moving opera has been a staple of the Christian Christmas tradition since it was first performed and broadcast on television Dec. 24, 1951. The story follows the Three Kings as they journey toward Bethlehem to visit the newborn Jesus. Along the way, they stop at the modest home of Amahl, a crippled shepherd boy, and his widowed mother. Because of the events that unfold at the house, a miracle occurs, and Amahl’s weak legs become strong again.

For those whose eyes droop at the opera, there is another entertainment opportunity on Friday, Dec. 6, as the award-winning Jazz Studies Program presents the PSU Jazz Ensemble. The first half of the concert will focus on the diverse talents of the ensemble’s individual members and spotlight the work of small combos, including the PSU Saxophone Quartet, playing original student arrangements. After intermission, the small groups will split into Jazz Ensembles 1 and 2, playing arrangements from diverse eras of jazz, including work by the Clarke/Boland Big Band, Thad Jones, Count Basie and Sammy Nestico.

Finally, on Sunday Dec. 8, the PSU Symphony Orchestra will be playing a concert featuring Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto with 19-year-old Kunihiko Nishitani as the soloist. The concert program will also feature Richard Wagner’s prelude to “Die Meistersinger von Nurmberg” and Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 7 in A Major,” which is generally considered the most joyous of Beethoven’s nine symphonies. The program should be testament to the growing prowess of the 80-piece PSU Symphony Orchestra, which has spent the last five years under the skillful direction of Dr. Keith Clark. Although the concert officially begins at 7:30 p.m., the PSU Symphonic Brass Quintet will be performing a concert prelude at 7 p.m. to welcome the audience.