Musicians savor ASO’s Christmas fare

Dec. 5, Handel’s Messiah, 8 p.m. $30-$60.

Dec. 7, Handel’s Messiah, 2 p.m. $30-$60.

Dec. 8, Gospel Christmas, 7 p.m. $20-$45.

Dec. 13, Christmas with the ASO, 8 p.m. $29-$62

Dec. 14, Christmas with the ASO, 2 p.m. $29-$62

Dec. 14, Christmas with the ASO, 8 p.m. $29-$62

Dec. 15, ASO Kid’s Christmas, 1:30 p.m. $15-$22

Dec. 15, ASO Kid’s Christmas, 3:30 p.m. $15-$22

Dec. 19, A Very Merry Holiday Pops, 8 p.m. $22-$60

Dec. 20, A Very Merry Holiday Pops, 8 p.m. $22-$60

Dec. 21, A Very Merry Holiday Pops, 2 p.m. $22-$60

Dec. 21, A Very Merry Holiday Pops, 8 p.m. $22-$60

Dec. 22, Celtic Woman: Home for Christmas, 8 p.m. $42.50-$77.50

Dec. 31, ASO New Year’s Eve, 8 p.m. $31-$69

From Handel and Bach to Frosty and Rudolph, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s lineup of holiday concerts promises a little something for everyone, including the performers.

Although the ASO and Chorus return to the same programs year after year, the musicians say they anticipate the concerts with as much excitement and enthusiasm as the audience, if not more.

“From the first rehearsal at the end of November until the New Year’s Eve show a month later, it’s like returning to something very special many times,” says ASO horn player Richard Deane. “December for me is all about holiday traditions, the things that we do together that bind us and give us joy. The ASO’s holiday concerts embody this idea perfectly for me. It’s a real joy.”

Seven holiday programs make up the ASO’s schedule of seasonal concerts at Symphony Hall.

“Most of our concerts throughout the year feature a single, major work or smaller works with a single, unifying style,” says David Hansen, an ASO chorus member for more than 30 years. “Only at Christmas do we get to sing such variety in a single program, exercising all our musical muscles and demonstrating our stylistic range from a simple, unaccompanied ‘Coventry Carol’ to a massive, Broadway-style ‘Deck the Halls.’ ”

The season kicks off on Thursday, Dec. 5, with one of the symphony’s long-standing traditions, Handel’s Messiah. ASO Director of Choruses Norman Mackenzie will conduct the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Chorus in Part I of Handel’s Messiah and Part II of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. The performances will feature soprano Jeanine De Bique, mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor, tenor Thomas Glenn, and bass Gerard Sundberg.

Hansen says the annual program can be especially significant and moving for longtime chorus members like him. “Every year when we sing the ‘Hallelujah’ chorus from Handel’s Messiah, I recall that this was the last piece I sang under Mr. Shaw’s direction during a Chamber Chorus Christmas concert before he died the following January,” he says. “I’ve sung in many concerts, from the small ensembles to the full ASOC, but I would be happy if my last concert were one of the Christmas concerts.”

The popular powerhouse “Gospel Christmas” takes place Dec. 8 with the Atlanta Gospel Singers. The program for the “Christmas with the ASO” classic concerts, Dec. 13-14, was originally created by Robert Shaw and will once again feature the Morehouse College Glee Club and the Gwinnett Young Singers conducted by Norman Mackenzie.

“I am never prouder to be an Atlantan than when standing on the stage with a children’s chorus,” says Hansen. “It reminds me of my earliest associations with the Symphony. And the Morehouse Glee Club truly embodies academic and musical excellence.”

“The ‘Christmas with the ASO’ concert was formerly called ‘Christmas with Robert Shaw,’ of course, and I remember my very first one back in 1987,” says Deane. “I couldn’t believe the thought that went into the progression of the music, and I was floored by the quality of the music-making, from the likes of the ASO Chorus and Morehouse Glee Club. I will never forget the goose bumps I got as the concert reached its climax … I had never heard such beauty and power up close.”

After that, it’s Christmas for the kids on Dec. 15 with narrator John Lemley; the annual Christmas pops concert from Dec.19-21; Celtic Woman with the ASO one night only on Dec. 22; and of course the chance to ring in the new year with the ASO on Dec. 31 with “ASO New Year’s Eve,” featuring vocalist Judy McLane and pianist Michael Chertock.

“It’s amazing to experience firsthand all of the different genres we offer at the ASO for the holidays:,” says Deane. “The partnership with the Atlanta Gospel Choir is really rewarding for us all, our Holiday Pops is usually really kitschy and fun, and of course the “Christmas with the ASO” concert is, in my opinion, the most inspiring Holiday show anywhere.”