Christmas Gala Dallas Symphony Chorus & Orchestra; Litton

• 1 Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas 02:45
• 2 Seasonal Sounds (arr. for choir) 02:11
• 3 Caroling, Caroling 01:04
• 4 Personent Hodie 04:23
• 5 Festival Fanfare for Christmas 03:34
• 6 3 Nativity Carols: No. 1. The Holly and the Ivy 03:52
• 7 A Christmas Flourish (Shiloh - Joy to the World - Silent Night - Angels We Have Heard on High) 10:14
• 8 Sleigh Ride 02:54
• 9 Holiday Inn: White Christmas 05:34
• 10 O Magnum Mysterium 05:10
• 11 The 12 Days After Christmas 03:22
• 12 Bellsong Fantasy (arr. for choir) 05:14
• 13 This Christmastide, 'Jessye's Carol' 06:06
• 14 A Christmas Garland (Ding, Dong Merrily on High ... 05:52
• Total Runtime 01:02:15

Info for Christmas Gala

The Dallas Symphony and the Dallas Symphony Chorus (directed by David Davidson) perform a holiday concert of traditional Christmas music under the baton of Andrew Litton.

No holiday, whether sacred or secular, is more closely associated with music than Christmas. The beloved carols of the season have transcended their religious origins as music has the capacity to draw people of different beliefs and background together, and holiday concerts have always been a popular format for doing so. And who better to celebrate the holiday season with than the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the 240 member all volunteer Dallas Symphony Chorus. Under the baton of Andrew Litton

Blake Davidson, Baritone
Teresa Maria Gomez, Soprano
Andrew Litton, Conductor Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Chorus
Dallas Handbell Ensemble
David R. Davidson, Director

Andrew Litton - Conductor
Andrew Litton is Music Director of Norway’s Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Artistic Director of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Sommerfest, and Conductor Laureate of Britain’s Bournemouth Symphony. He guest conducts the world’s leading orchestras and opera companies and has a discography of almost 100 recordings, including a Grammy and other honors.

Mr. Litton became the first American Music Director of the Bergen Philharmonic in 2003, and has recently extended his contract through 2015, the year the orchestra celebrates its 250th Birthday. In recognition of his artistic achievements and efforts to bring the orchestra the international attention it deserves, the King of Norway recently made Litton a Knight of the Norwegian Order of Merit. Under Litton the Bergen Philharmonic tours Europe extensively, made a BBC Proms London début and appeared at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and Vienna’s Musikverein. The orchestra toured America for the first time in 40 years and appeared at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Their 11 concert Germany/Austria tour in March of 2011 included such cities as Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Cologne, Stuttgart, Vienna and Linz. Litton and the Bergen Philharmonic record for the BIS and Hyperion labels, winning extraordinary critical acclaim for a BIS series of Mendelssohn recordings. The initial release in a Stravinsky ballet series is already getting a great reception.

Mr Litton spent much of the last season in the opera pit, presiding over the first production at the Deutsche Oper Berlin of Richard Strauss Die Liebe der Danae since it’s premiere in 1952. Arthaus has recorded the production for DVD release. He also made his debut at the Australian Opera with Der Rosenkavalier, which was filmed for theatrical release. In Bergen, he conducted a new production La Boheme with the opera company he helped create, Den Nye Oper. Mr. Litton returned to the Royal Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, MDR Sinfonie of Leipzig, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Orchestra Nationale de Lille, among others.

Besides returning for his ninth season as Artistic Director of Minnesota Orchestra’s Sommerfest, highlights of the current season include a return with the Royal Philharmonic to London’s Albert Hall BBC Proms for a marathon concert celebrating the legacy of Serge Koussevitsky, Netherlands Philhamonic, Belgian National Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony, MDR Leipzig, National Symphony (Washington, DC), Vancouver Symphony, and the Colorado Symphony. He will be making debuts with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Orquestra Simfonica de Galicia, and the Orchestra of the Beethovenhalle Bonn, among others.

The Dallas Symphony Chorus
is the official vocal ensemble of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. This all-volunteer organization consists of members who devote their time, effort and considerable talent to regularly scheduled rehearsals and performances with the Dallas Symphony, as well as appearances in the greater Dallas metroplex, across the United States and with orchestras in venues around the world.

The 200-member chorus traces its origin to an early 1977 meeting between Dallas Symphony Orchestra Music Director and Conductor Eduardo Mata, Managing Director Lloyd Halderman and University of Texas at Dallas Chancellor Bryce Jordan. Mata asked that a large-scale permanent vocal ensemble be created to make possible regular performances of major choral works with the orchestra.

The DSC's first performance as the official chorus of the Dallas Symphony took place under Mata's direction at theMusic Hall at Fair Park on September 23, 1977 with a performance of the Mozart Mass in C minor.

Since then, the chorus has grown through the tenures of chorusmasters William Graham, Stewart Clark, Frank Sargent and Ronald Shirey. In December 1994, David R. Davidson was named the chorus' fifth director until his passing in 2009. Terry Price was named Director ad interim for the 2009-2010 season and an international search concluded in December 2010 with the announcement of Joshua Habermann as the sixth permanent director. Mr. Habermann assumed his new duties as Chorus Director in August 2011.

All of the musicians in the chorus are volunteers who attend weekly Monday evening rehearsals. The rehearsal and concert schedule spans the orchestra's Classical season and includes the occasional pops and summer concert. Auditions are generally held for those interested in joining the chorus during the months of May and June each year. Since 1988, the DSC's Christmastime performance schedule with the Orchestra has expanded due to its popularity with holiday audiences from two performances to as many as twelve.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Since 1900, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra has grown from a 40-person ensemble to a world-class orchestra performing in one of the world's finest concert halls.

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra's beginnings can be traced to May 22, 1900, when a 40-member ensemble performed under the direction of German-born conductor Hans Kreissig. Kreissig led the Orchestra for five seasons and helped to finance the organization.

In the ensuing years, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra began to grow into a major American orchestra under the leadership of such eminent conductors as Walter J. Fried, Carl Venth, Paul Van Katwiik and Jacques Singer. In 1945, the Dallas Symphony took great strides under the direction of Conductor Antal Dorati. Dorati transformed the ensemble into a fully professional, first-rate orchestra that won national attention through a series of RCA recordings, expanded repertoire, more concerts and several national network radio broadcasts. Dorati had a worthy and vigorous successor in American Walter Hendl, music director from 1949 to 1958. Hendl's successors included such major musical figures as Paul Kletzki, Sir Georg Solti, Donald Johanos, Anshel Brusilow, Max Rudolf and Louis Lane.

In 1977, Mexican-born Eduardo Mata was appointed music director and conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Under his guidance, the Orchestra enjoyed many successes, including recording contracts with RCA and Dorian, two Carnegie Hall performances, a performance at the Kennedy Center, a 15-concert European tour, three concerts in Mexico City and three concerts in Singapore. When Mata retired in June of 1993, he had the longest tenure as music director in the Orchestra's history and was named conductor emeritus of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

During Mata's tenure, in addition to excelling creatively, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra saw the dedication of its permanent home, the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. You can read the full history of the Meyerson.

In December of 1992, the Dallas Symphony Association named a young American, Andrew Litton, to succeed Mata as music director and conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Litton embarked on an ambitious program to significantly raise the Orchestra's international standing. He launched the Dallas Symphony's first television venture, the Amazing Music family concert series, made numerous recordings with the DSO including Mahler's Symphony No. 5 and Gramophone magazine's Editor's Choice Award-winning Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos, had several performances at Carnegie Hall, three European tours and a summer residency at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival.

Following Litton's departure, the DSO named Jaap van Zweden as its new music director in February 2007. The 2011-2012 season marks van Zweden's fourth with the orchestra. His other titled positions include music director of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and Kamer Filharmonie (2005-2013).

Blake Davidson - Baritone
Blake Davidson made his international debut in concert at the Tokyo Opera House, preceded by a presentation at AliceTully Hall in New York as a part of his Bellini Competition Award ( Italy ). He has returned to Carnegie Hall since then to sing solo concerts in Weill Hall. Auckland Philharmonia featured Davidson as Tonio in I Pagliacci, with Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducting. Davidson joined Sarasota Opera to sing the title role in Verdi’s Macbeth for a student performance, covering other performances (original and traditional versions), and was called upon to step in for a performance. Additionally he covered the baritone lead, Manfredo, in Montemezzi’s L’amore dei Tre Re. He made his Dallas Opera debut in their production of Fidelio and sang Schaunard in La Boheme with Anchorage Opera. He also recently sang the role of Morales in a Dallas Symphony concert version of Carmen at the Bravo Vail! music festival.

Mr. Davidson’s expansion into opera is preceded by extensive musical theatre performances including Casa Mañana and Dallas Summer Musicals. With a flair for musical theatre, this led to symphonic Broadway concerts including Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s 2000, 01, and 02 Broadway! concerts, about which Punch Shaw of the Fort Worth Star Telegram said, “Blake Davidson stood out from the pack with a ringing, glorious baritone. He displayed exceptional power even in his highest notes and a consistently gorgeous tone.” Other pops concerts include the 1998, 2000, and 2004 Christmas at the SuperPops concerts and the headliner artist for the 40th anniversary concert of the Irving Symphony. 2004 also included a Pops concert with The Florida Orchestra performing in Tampa , St. Petersburg , and Clearwater , about which John Fleming of the St. Petersburg Times said 'Davidson…has a tour de force in ‘Soliloquy’.' Soon thereafter he made his Fort Worth Symphony debut under the baton of Miguel Harth-Bedoya in a Broadway concert, then a Sondheim concert. This return to musical theater continued recently in a production of Evita in which Mr. Davidson played the role of Juan Peron to rave reviews. John Garcia of talkinbroadway.com said, “As Juan Peron, Blake Davidson provides the best singing voice of the evening - a colored, sturdy, and booming baritone voice that you never get tired of hearing. Davidson's portrayal of Peron is smashing!”

The Dallas Symphony presents Mr. Davidson as the baritone soloist on their CD entitled 'A Dallas Christmas Gala', under Andrew Litton’s baton, released on the Delos label, about which Scott Cantrell of the Dallas Morning News said, 'The high points...are Blake Davidson's solos, his baritone as warm and rich as plum pudding.' His many appearances with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra include Bravo! Vail, where he partnered with Sylvia McNair. They again collaborated in a Highlander Concert Series (Dallas) recital in 2002. He has become a favorite also with the University of Virginia choral program, soloing with them in the Brahms Requiem in 2004 and being asked to come back in 2005 for Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem. He is in demand with many orchestras for a full range of repertoire. With his versatility and love of connecting with audiences, he admired for his gala appearances, recitals, concerts, and informal programs.

Teresa Maria Gomez - Soprano
Teresa Maria Gomez, soprano, has been a featured soloist with the Dallas Symphony, Dallas Wind Symphony, Plano Symphony, El Paso Symphony, Missouri Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony, the Symphonic Orchestra of Slovak Radio, and the Israeli Chamber Orchestra.

Teresa has sung the role of the Voice of Suffering in the world premier performances of Oratorio Terezin, by Ruth Fazal, in Canada, Europe, Israel, and in NYC at Carnegie Hall. Ms. Gomez has recorded Dialogues and Entertainment on Klavier Records, Dubois’ Seven Last Words of Christ on Gothic Records, and The Dallas Christmas Gala with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra on Delos Records. She and her husband, Paul, reside in Rogers, AR where she teaches voice and piano and is the Director of Music at the First Baptist Church of Lowell.

Booklet for Christmas Gala