Those joyful sounds of the season

The joyous sounds of the holiday season abound. Whether it’s a perennial favorite or a throwback to the showy Ziegfeld era, there’s much going on to appeal to all ages and interests.

Festive harmonies
The Long Island Flute Club is ready share in the holiday spirit with its program of seasonal classics, Sunday, Dec. 6. The 18-piece flute ensemble includes all members of the flute family from piccolo to bass flute. Directed by Lauren Osnato, the Holiday Flute Choir performs their interpretation of festive classics that are sure to have everyone feeling that seasonal cheer, including “The Nutcracker Suite,” “Let it Snow,” “Sleigh Ride,” and “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, among other seasonal tunes.
The Holiday Flute Choir is composed of adults and teens from Nassau and Suffolk counties. They are professional players, teachers and students who all are devoted to the flute and enjoy sharing music with the community.

Share the holiday season with the Long Island Flute Club at 1 p.m. in Old Westbury Gardens’ Red Ballroom. As alway, the Edwardian era Westbury House is festively decorated for the season and Santa stops by, of course, to greet visitors. The concert is free with admission to the Gardens.
Old Westbury Gardens, 71 Old Westbury Rd., Old Westbury. (516) 333-0048 or www.oldwestburygardens.org.

Christmas with the Nassau Pops
The Nassau Pops Symphony Orchestra, under the longtime direction of Franklin Square resident Louis Panacciulli, brings some holiday cheer to the area, next Sunday. The NPSO is joined by the Mineola Choral Society for its annual concert of traditional and classic Christmas favorites.
Together the orchestra and choir perform selections from Handel’s Messiah as well as many beloved inspirational songs of the Christmas season. The program also includes solos by vocalists Jack and Ann Cassin who perform with the Nassau Pops during their summer concert series in the parks. They will join the orchestra for “White Christmas,” “The Christmas Song,” “Christmas on Broadway,” and “O Holy Night,” among others.
The festive concert concludes, as always, with an audience sing-along to round out the performance.
“Time and again audience members have said they don’t really feel the Christmas season begins until they come to this concert and they all get to participate during the popular sing-a-long of favorite Christmas carols, which is climaxed with the moving Hallelujah Chorus,” says Panacciulli.
See the NPSO perform, Dec. 13, at 3 p.m. Admission is free. Donation of an unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots is requested. Chaminade High School, 340 Jackson Ave., Mineola. (516) 565-0646.

Those Ziegfeld days
With a tip of the top hat, classic holiday tunes combine with a musical cabaret in a vibrant over-the-top spectacular that is the Madison Theatre’s holiday celebration, “A Ziegfeld Holiday,” Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 18 and 19.
“It’s an exciting, breathtaking show based off of the 1920s to ‘30s Zeigfeld era,” says Angelo Fraboni, the Madison Theatre’s artistic director.
“We have tapping reindeer, showgirls and Broadway talent, along with our BFA CAP21 students and some local kids in a musical feast that highlights the season’s favorite holiday songs,” Fraboni says.
Dazzling costumes from the Ziegfeld Society (feathers galore) and scenery and props add to the fun in true-Ziegfeld style. “We’re going to have a lot different things going on,’ says Fraboni. “We have everything but the kitchen sink you might say. This is a great cosume-driven show.”
A throwback to the great Ziegfeld shows from Broadway’s Golden Age, the era’s vibe comes through in over 20 musical numbers performed by the diverse cast that includes Broadway veterans, students from Molloy College’s CAP21 musical theater program, and children from Rockville Centre, Oceanside, Merrick and Baldwin.
“These are a talented bunch of kids who want to be professionals,” says Fraboni, of the eight Molloy students who perform in the show, which includes numbers in which the students have the spotlight. A five-piece band provides a lively
accompaniment. “We wanted it to make it fun for the audience,” says Fraboni. “We like to celebrate the holidays and want our audience to be happy and tapping their toes. “We want everyone to be entertained and leave the theater singing along. This is our love-fest to the holiday season.”
Proceeds from the concert will help fund the Joan Roberts Scholarship for vocal performance majors at Molloy.
Shortly after that concert, jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalum brings his “A Gospel According to Jazz” tour to the theater, on Saturday, Dec. 26, joined by Gerald Albright, Norman Brown and vocalist Sheléa.
“Nothing could be more wonderful for me than spending time during the holiday season with you, the audience, and some of my favorite musical friends,” says Whalum. “This year’s tour will feature the so amazing Gerald Albright, Grammy award-winner Norman Brown and vocal phenom Sheléa. My awesome band is here again, along with my special guests Kevin Whalum and John Stoddart. There’s no joy like that of sharing the “Greatest Love of All” through the greatest music of all.”
Enjoy the glamour and spectacle of the Ziegfeld era, Dec. 19, 4 p.m.; Dec. 20, 3 p.m. Tickets are $49-$55. See Kirk Whalum’s A Gospel According to Jazz, Dec. 26, 7 and 9 p.m. The Madison Theatre is on the Molloy College campus, 1000 Hempstead Ave., Rockville Centre. (516) 323-4444 or www.madisontheatreny.org.



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