By Chip Chandler — Digital Content Producer
Panhandle PBS will air festive local programs celebrating the Christmas holidays.
The centerpiece is our production of Amarillo Symphony: Happy Holiday Pops, premiering at 7 p.m. Thursday.
"I've been dying to do (a holiday concert) in Amarillo since I arrived," said Jacomo Bairos, the Symphony's music director and conductor.
The concert features Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride," the "Hallelujah" chorus from George Frideric Handel's Messiah, "Winter Wonderland," excerpts from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker and more.
Amarillo Master Chorale joins the Symphony for several pieces, including a concert-ending singalong with the audience.
It will encore at midnight Dec. 24, 7 p.m. Dec. 25 and midnight Dec. 27.
Plus, Christmas at West Texas A&M University: Sing a Song for the Glorious Season will debut at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The special, to be recorded Dec. 3 and produced by WT’s Maroon Productions, will feature the WT choirs and orchestra, the Canyon High School Chorale, violinist Yevgeny Zvonnikov and guest conductor Dongin Youn.
It will encore at 1 a.m. Thursday, 9:30 p.m. Dec. 25 and 2:30 a.m. Dec. 27.
And, after Christmas, Panhandle PBS will broadcast Amarillo Opera's recent production of Verdi's La Traviata starring WT's Suzanne Ramo and Amarillo favorite Eric Barry.
It will air at 8 p.m. Dec. 29 and encore at 1 a.m. Dec. 31.
Chip Chandler is a digital content producer for Panhandle PBS. He can be contacted at Chip.Chandler@actx.edu, at @chipchandler1 on Twitter and on Facebook.
