Holiday History

This first snowfall is making us even more excited for our annual Holiday concert this Sunday, Dec. 9 at Trinity United Methodist Church at 3pm. You might not realize it, but some carols have lengthy and interesting histories.

For example, did you know that "Greensleeves" is an old English ballad that can be traced back to at least 1580 and may be about Anne Boleyn? Moreover, this classic has been referenced everywhere from William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor to a recent episode of The Office. (Wikipedia)

Or that "Jingle Bells" originally began as a Thanksgiving song? (About.com)

Or that, according to EW.com, the popularized version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is quite different from the original? (this song will not be featured at the ASO concert)

Check out the links below to buy tickets and learn more about some favorite holiday carols!

Links of Interest

Buy Tickets

Greensleeves

Jingle Bells

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

The Blustery Day

There's no other word besides blustery for today. Of course, that word is probably most associated with beloved children's book character Winnie the Pooh. While Pooh may not be Whitman or Dickenson, A.A. Milne imbued him with a lot of wisdom. One of the best is his explanation that:

"Poetry and Hums aren't things which you get, they're things which get you. And all you can do is to go where they can find you."

At the ASO, we hope that our art is something that grabs you, that pulls you in, and leaves you fufilled but still wanting more. Though "hums" may find you while listening to a jazz cd in your car or reading about Impressionists at your local book store, we hope that you'll come out to the Schlesinger Concert Hall. Let the arts find you in the atmosphere, the music, the educational lectures, and the company of people who share the same passions you do.

If your passion is holiday music, please don't forget about our holiday concert this Sunday, Dec. 9 at 3pm at the Trinity United Methodist Church. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at http://www.alexsym.org/ or via phone at 703-548-0885.

Post-Thanksgiving Thanks

First of all, we hope everyone had an amazing, family-filled, and stress-free, Thanksgiving! The supermarkets were packed and parking spaces were few, but it was definitely worth the turkeycranberrysaucestuffingmashedpotatoes mix on our plates. Though Tara the intern was getting visions of that smoking dry meatless turkey from Christmas Vacation, her first Thanksgiving on her own was pretty darn good.

Did you know that Ben Franklin wanted the national bird to be the turkey? It must be a much more regal bird than we give it credit for.

Finally, even though it's past the holiday, we want you to know how thankful we are for all of our patrons, volunteers, donors, and supporters. We're so lucky to have you all year, not just around the holidays!

Links of Interest

Tickets for ASO Holiday Concert

Turkey History and Lore

A Hazy Shade of Winter

We hope everyone was careful driving into work today with all that fog. Does anyone really know what fog is? The definiton is just at hazy as the thing itself. According to Wikipedia, fog is:

"a cloud in contact with the ground. Fog differs from other clouds only in that fog touches the surface of the Earth. The same cloud that is not fog on lower ground may be fog where it contacts higher ground such as hilltops or mountain ridges. Fog is distinct from mist only in its density. Fog is defined as cloud which reduces visibility to less than 1 km, where as mist is that which reduces visibility to less than 2 km."

Even though there's fog on the roads, we don't want you to be foggy about ASO's upcoming concerts. On Sunday, December 9 at 3pm, ASO will be presenting its annual holiday concert (Trinity United Methodist Church, Alexandria). Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online or via phone at 703-548-0885. The ASO will be playing all the seasonal favorites and we encourage you to sing along. As ususal, the more the merrier!

Looking ahead, the new year will bring us three more concerts (Euphoria, Rapture, and Bliss) each being presented on a Saturday night and a Sunday Matinee. We'll also be hosting our annual Children's Festival in June.

We've got lots of great things coming and hope you'll all be here to join us!

Beethoven and Brahms success!

To everyone who came out to our November 3 performance, THANK YOU! We had great attendance and an enthusiastic response. A special thanks also goes out to all our wonderful volunteers (including those from SOLA and T.C. Williams) who helped ensure the night ran smoothly.

Keep warm with the thoughts of mulled apple cider, piping hot cornbread stuffing, and the fuzzy feeling you'll get attending the upcoming holiday concert.