'Home for the Holidays' a nostalgic turn for Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra

Christmas is an extra special time of the year for musicians. In addition to enjoying the holiday like everyone else, they get to perform music they’ve known and loved since childhood.

“I always enjoy holiday programs that have a really nostalgic feel to them, in addition to including real classical pieces,” says conductor Maria Sensi Sellner. “I guess I kind of inherited this from (legendary choral conductor) Bob Page and the way he celebrated Christmas.” Many years ago she studied conducting with Page, and was later honored to be his assistant.

Sellner will conduct the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra in “Home for the Holidays” with soprano Meghan DeWald and the All-Star Choir of Westmoreland County on Dec. 21 at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg.

“For me, the challenge is to give everyone that warm, fuzzy feeling, without repeating very much from year to year,” says the conductor. “I try to keep it interesting and to have pieces that are traditional, like the ‘Hallelujah’ Chorus, but also to incorporate different selections,” which this year will include a world premiere.

Naturally Christmas carols will play a prominent role. Arthur Harris’ many arrangements are old favorites and will be represented by “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Silent Night” and “White Christmas.”

Sing along

Since there’s nothing like singing carols together for making the holiday spirit glow, the sing along with the All-Star Choir is sure to be a high point. The four selections are “Joy to the World,” “The First Noel,” “Deck the Halls” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”

The 60-voice choir is drawn from public and parochial schools in the county. Its repertoire also will include the delightful and virtuosic “Carol of the Bells.”

A new holiday addition

This year, in addition to carols and classical pieces connected to the holidays, the Westmoreland Symphony commissioned a new piece, “For Behold From Henceforth” by Nancy Galbraith. The prolific composer is the Vira Heinz professor and chairwoman of composition at Carnegie Mellon University, but her music doesn’t sound academic. It is evocative, imaginatively colorful and American in its openness to diverse stylistic traditions.

“For Behold From Henceforth” sets its text from the Gospel of Luke for soprano and orchestra, and lasts about four minutes. It is based on a few lines from Galbraith’s 2002 “Magnificat,” but both the introduction and development are freshly composed. The composer says she uses harp, an instrument not in her “Magnificat,” to create different atmospheres.

Soprano DeWald, who has performed with Pittsburgh Festival Opera and at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, will sing the world premiere. Other pieces she’ll perform include “Christmas Eve in My Hometown” and “Hanukkah Medley.”

A true homecoming

“ ‘Christmas Eve in My Home Town’ is new to me, and taps into the image of people bundled up and shopping,” Sellner says. “It’s a pre-holiday theme. I imagine a street with a handful of little shops and enjoying the window displays. I always think of the displays in the old Kaufmann’s in Downtown Pittsburgh.”

The purely instrumental selection will include Evening Prayer and Dream Pantomime from “Hansel and Gretel” by Engelbert Humperdinck.

“I try to think about the transition between the pieces. I have a story line in my head for ‘Home for the Holidays,’ ” says Sellner. “I’m actually from Westmoreland County and it feels like a homecoming for me.”