Lawrence Loh, conductor
Katherine Whyte, Soprano
Reginald Smith, Jr., Baritone
The Phoenix Symphony Chorus, Dr. Thomas Bookhout, chorus master
Jump joyfully into the season with our annual Holiday Pops! This sparkling performance will put you in a festive mood. Featuring carols and hymns from a variety of traditions, you’ll feel merry and bright at the most wonderful time of the year. Guest conductor Lawrence Loh leads the Symphony joined by The Phoenix Symphony Chorus.
Holiday Season Sponsor
Concert Program Includes:
Randal Alan Bass: Fanfare: Joy To The World
Pietro Yon: Gesu Bambino
Traditional arr. Matthew Jackfert: I Saw Three Ships
Gary Fry: Sing We Joyous
Gloria Shayne Beker arr. Jim Kessler: Do You Hear What I Hear?
Quinn Mason: Christmas Eve Festivities
David Weintraub arr. Gary Fry: Eight Bright Candles
Eric Whitacre: Glow
Hugh Martin arr. Jim Kessler: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Felix Mendelssohn arr. Gary Fry: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
John Williams: Somewhere in My Memory from Home Alone
Julie Styne arr. Gary Fry: Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Anthony Dilorenzo: Fum Fum Fun
John Debney arr. Victor Presavento: Elf Suite
Albert Hague arr. Matthew Naughtin: You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch
Mervyn Warren arr. Gary Fry: Who Would Imagine A King
Alan Silvestri arr. Gary Fry: When Christmas Comes To Town from The Polar Express
John Rutter: The Twelve Days of Christmas
Leroy Anderson: Sleigh Ride
John Williams: Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas from Home Alone
The Phoenix Symphony’s SRP Preludes series returns for the 2024/25 season! Preludes will take place one hour prior to select performances with activities that will be sure to delight the whole family! Prepare to hear live musical performances, discover new artworks, explore the dances and traditions of new cultures, and much, much more!
Friday, November 29, 6:30 PM
Saturday, November 30, 1:00 PM
Saturday, November 30, 6:30 PM
Sunday, December 1, 1:00 PM
Join us as we celebrate Holiday traditions from near and far! Hear the glorious notes of Christmas Carols sound through the lobby from professional caroling group, The King’s Carolers.
The Preludes Series is brought to you by
About Lawrence Loh, guest conductor
Mr. Loh’s previous positions include: Music Director of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Syracuse Opera; Music Director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra; Associate Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Associate Conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Denver Young Artists Orchestra.
Mr. Loh is active as a guest conductor, both in the U.S. and abroad. In addition to annual concerts in Pittsburgh and Dallas, his recent engagements include the Boston Pops (Tanglewood), North Carolina Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Florida Orchestra, Pensacola Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, National Symphony, Detroit Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Albany Symphony and the Cathedral Choral Society at the Washington National Cathedral. Past engagements include the National (Washington D.C.), Indianapolis, Tacoma, Utah, Rochester, Naples, Knoxville, Florida, El Paso, San Luis Obispo, Edmonton, Colorado, Charleston (SC), Malaysia, Daejeon (South Korea) and Greater Bridgeport Orchestras. His summer appearances include the festivals of Grant Park, Sun Valley, Bravo Vail Valley, Aspen, Mann Center in Philadelphia, Breckenridge, Las Vegas, Hot Springs, the Kinhaven Music School and the Performing Arts Institute (PA). In the summer of 2016, he made his debut at Tanglewood, conducting Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony with the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Orchestra and returned to Tanglewood in 2017 to conduct the Boston Pops.
About Katherine Whyte, soprano
Recent and upcoming engagements for Ms. Whyte include her celebrated Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with Intermountain Opera Bozeman; her debut with Syracuse’s Symphoria performing Poulenc’s Gloria; a return to New Choral Society as soprano soloist in Carmina Burana; a solo recital at Gordon College, her debut with Heartbeat Opera as Agathe in Der Freischütz; and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte with Opera Grand Rapids.
The 2018-19 season for Ms. Whyte included Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Louisiana Symphony, joining Opera Hong Kong as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Adina in L’elisir d’amore with Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, and returning to The Metropolitan Opera for their production of Suor Angelica. The 2017-2018 season saw her back at The Metropolitan Opera for Parsifal as well as appearing in concert with the Mountain View International Festival of Song and the Orquesta Sinfonica Mineria for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Additionally, she appeared with both Charlottesville Opera and the Norwalk Symphony as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro. The 2016-2017 season included her return to The Metropolitan Opera for productions of Jenufa and Rigoletto, a debut with the Edmonton Symphony for Handel’s Messiah, Fauré’s Requiem with Manhattan Concert Productions at Carnegie Hall, and her debut with the Qingdao Symphony Orchestra in China. The 2015-2016 season saw her debut with the Dallas Opera as Pousette in Manon, a return to the Metropolitan Opera for their production of Rigoletto, the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Saratoga, and concerts with the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of China’s National Opera at the Meet in Beijing Arts Festival.
Reginald Smith, Jr., baritone
In the 2024-25 season, Smith takes on the roles of Scarpia in Tosca at the New Orleans Opera, Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana with the Sacramento Philharmonic, and returns to Washington National Opera as the title character Porgy in Porgy and Bess. He performs as a featured soloist in concerts with the New Jersey Symphony led by Xian Zhang, the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and in a solo recital at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, South Carolina. In Spring 2025, Smith makes his Baltimore Symphony Orchestra debut as Amonasro in a staged version of Aida.
Last season, Smith made his Santa Fe Opera debut as Scarpia in Tosca and returned to the Houston Grand Opera to take on the title role in Falstaff. He sang the role of Amonasro in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of Aida immediately after jumping in as for the company’s production of Terence Blanchard’s Champion, inspiring New City Stage to write, “Baritone Reginald Smith Jr., who was so magnificent as the older Emile in Champion, made a chilling Amonasro in what is often a throwaway role.” In concert, he returned as the featured baritone soloist for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas Pops performances.
