MONA GHIZ, MARLANT PA
Stadacona Band holiday concert will be online
By Virginia Beaton,
Trident Staff
If you enjoy the Christmas holiday season, you will want to tune in to Facebook page at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, December 16.
MONA GHIZ, MARLANT PA
That’s when the Stadacona Band of The Royal Canadian Navy, directed by Lt(N) Bradley Ritson, will present its annual Christmas concert, this year titled Celebrate the Season with the Stadacona Band.
“We recorded this concert in early October,” says band member S1 Trevor Brandenburg.
The location was St Andrew’s Church in central Halifax. “It’s a great setting,” according to S1 Brandenburg. “The church was renovated and adapted to make it a good place to perform. There’s a stage and a grand piano.” As well, “the acoustics in the church are outstanding,” he noted.
The guest narrator will be Liz Rigney, who has often performed as a singer with the band during the ‘Til We Meet Again concerts, but for health and safety reasons related to COVID-19, Rigney will not be singing during this concert, says band member MS Blythe Heywood.
However, guest performer PO2 Brad Davidge, a former member of the band who now works in the Base Commander’s office, will perform a duet with PO2 Krisanne Crowell. That music will be the version of Peace on Earth/The Little Drummer Boy, that made its debut with David Bowie and Bing Crosby in a TV performance more than 40 years ago.
The program of music will include seasonal favourites such as Leroy Anderson’s popular hit Sleigh Ride, as well as his arrangement of Christmas carols, titled Christmas Festival. There will also be a set of Celtic tunes arranged by Robert W. Smith.
Within the band, there are several smaller ensembles that often step out front to perform and for this concert, the jazz ensemble do so, playing Feliz Navidad.
People who view the concert online at home will be pleased with the visual and sound quality, says S1 Brandenburg. “Formation Imaging Services shot the video. It’s a TV quality recording.”
A sound engineer was hired and, he says, “Our Commanding Officer worked with the sound engineer for the post-production session.”
Celebrate the Season with the Stadacona Band will be available for viewing and listening at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, December 16 at the Stadacona Band’s Facebook page at facebook.com/Stadaconaband
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