Written by Mary Dan Eades on October 27, 2016
Back for the fourth year, Hallelujah Project returns to the Lobero stage with the family-friendly mix of holiday classics and seasonal favorites designed to delight audiences of all ages.Tickets ($26.50* to $46.50* and $7* kids 7 -17 with adult) available in person or online at the Lobero Box Office or by calling (805) 963-0761. *Includes Lobero facility fee.
The popular Hallelujah Project returns for the fourth year to the Lobero stage with its trademark blend of holiday classics and seasonal favorites designed to delight audiences young and old and kick off the season in magical, musical style. Conductor JoAnne Wasserman will lead the Santa Barbara Choral Society and Orchestra in this program of holiday merriment, featuring the young voices of American Riviera Children’s Chorus and Goleta Valley Junior High Choir. Ms. Wasserman has programmed a repertoire sure to please the whole family, including JS Bach’s Cantata 191 (Gloria in Excelsis Deo) and Randol Bass’s Gloria and Glory to God, as well as interesting arrangements of traditional carols and seasonal favorites by Wilberg, Tydek, Gjeilo, and more. And as has become traditional, a special narration of the charmingly-orchestrated version of Clement Moore’s holiday classic ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.
This year’s guest of honor and celebrity narrator will be Academy Award-winning actress Shirley Jones, beloved for her roles in such musicals as Oklahoma, Carousel, and The Music Man, the popular television series The Partridge Family, as well as the dramatic performance in Elmer Gantry, for which she won the Best Supporting Actress honor. Previous narrators have included comedienne Fanny Flagg and actresses Stephanie Zimbalist and Allison Sweeney.
Rumor has it that there could also be a visit from the mega-star of the season, The Jolly Old Elf, himself, so kids young and old will want to keep a watchful eye out!
Parents and grandparents, don’t miss this chance to make lasting, musical holiday memories with your children and grandchildren! Get your tickets today!
And THANK YOU to our sponsors
American baritone, Ralph Cato has travelled the world extensively, telling stories in song with his warm, clarion baritone voice.
Tenor, Benjamin Brecher has performed over fifty operatic roles with many of the world’s most prestigious opera companies, specializing in the high lying lyric tenor repertoire. He has performed 16 roles with New York City Opera alone. Career highlights include performances with Opera Orchestra of New York, L’Opera de Nice, Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, L’Opera de Montreal, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, among many others. His orchestral solo repertoire includes Mozart, Handel, Orff, Bach, Haydn, as well as many performances of Britten. In 2000 he began performing the great Irish Tenor songs in a concert produced for him entitled A Celtic Celebration, Twenty years later, the show has become a North American hit with performances with 45 Symphonies in North America. Ben continues his discography having added his twelfth recording in 2016 Forgotten Liszt, with pianist Robert Koenig, and will record a new release in 2022 entitled “Three Centuries of Thomas Moore” including the music of Britten, Berlioz, and Sarah Gibson on MSR Classics. He is a Professor of Voice at University of California Santa Barbara, where he has served as the Head of Voice.
Tracy Van Fleet is pleased to return to the Santa Barbara Choral Society. As a soloist, she has performed with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Lüneburg Symphony in Germany, Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río in Mexico, Pasadena Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Los Angeles Bach Festival, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Philharmonic, USC Symphony and Chorus, and others. She has had many appearances with the Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Opera Pacific, San Diego Opera and Opera Colorado.
Born and raised in Southern California, April Amante is a versatile soprano with expertise and facility in repertoire spanning from early music to contemporary musical theater.