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The festive season
?Although we disagree with retailers putting up the Christmas paraphernalia before they’ve even hauled down the witches and pumpkins from Hallowe’en, there is a very good reason for anticipating the holiday season here in Uxbridge (besides the magnificent Santa Claus Parade, that is).
If you were to poke your heads into the Music Hall on Saturday mornings, or the Baptist Church on Sunday afternoons, or St. Paul’s on Tuesday evenings, or any one of several other venues at different points during the week, you will see and hear dozens, no hundreds, of people from our town and far afield rehearsing dilgently to present you with an utterly amazing array of delightful sights and sounds in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
It is probably safe to say that there is no other community in Canada, let alone Ontario, with a population of less than 20,000, that is planning to mount full-length productions of Handel’s Messiah and The Nutcracker within a few days of each other. But thanks to the tireless artistic leadership of conductor Thomas Baker and teacher/choreographer Nancy Einsmann, that is what Uxbridge is blessed with every second year (in alternate years we get the Baptist Church’s outdoor Living Nativity, another great tradition and equally impressive in its own way).
The Messiah, for those of our readers who haven’t experienced it, is a crackerjack production with a large professional chamber orchestra, accomplished soloists and a chorus which usually numbers more than a hundred singers, several of whom commute long distances to take part. In the marvellous acoustics of North Durham’s largest church, Trinity United, the Messiah is a truly thrilling event. Don’t miss it.
Considering the cramped confines of the stage at the Music Hall, the Uxbridge Dance Academy’s Nutcracker is more modest, but only in size. The production values are top-notch and the quality of the dancing only gets better every time as Nancy’s peerless progeny and protégés, her daughters Diana and Emily, gain more confidence as performers and teachers. Get your tickets early for this one.
These two productions are only the tip of a wonderfully entertaining iceberg, as community choirs such as One Voice and the Monday Morning Singers, as well as a multitude of school and church ensembles, prepare to celebrate the joy of Christmas with an outburst of song, dance and spectacle.
It’s also, of course, a special time for family, but this year make sure to set aside time to treat that family to a bit of what makes our community special - its rich performing arts community.
