Concert-A-Palooza!
Posted at 6:00 AM on December 24, 2009
by Dale Connelly
(25 Comments)
It's Christmas Eve, and Radio Heartland has the honor of presenting over seven hours of unique programming - three great seasonal performances recorded over the past two weeks in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Late this afternoon you can settle in for a holiday concert extravaganza. Look at the weather! What else are you going to do?
At 4pm we'll have Neal & Leandra's Holiday Concert. Joined by the multi-guitar playing Dan Schwartz, Neal and Leandra will light a spark with their wonderful harmonies, sharp songwriting and good-natured humor in a show recorded at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis.
At 6pm we'll move to the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul for The Steeles - JD, Jearlyn, Jevetta, Fred, Janice and Billy. This is the 25th year for The Steeles Christmas Show, and the last, according to the family.
We'll hear the powerful voices and close harmonies of these siblings and get a glimpse of the many talents shared all along the branches of the family tree.
Following The Steeles, it's Peter Ostroushko's Heartland Holiday Concert. Peter surrounds himself with friends and family for a musical feast that spans the globe. Ukrainian and Brazilian melodies go hand-in-hand with standards and surprises. And storyteller Kevin Kling will conjure up some hilarious snow days and eccentric uncles.
This three-concert set will be repeated on Christmas day at 10am.
Thanks to Ann Marsden and Tom Campbell for the photos, to Chris Frymire, Tom Campbell, Sam Keenan and Rob Byers for making these recordings, and to Mike Pengra for co-ordinating the production!
What has been your favorite Christmastime concert-going experience?
Comments (25)
Hi and Merry Christmas,
Hope everyone has arrived at their destination, my daughter slid in from Chicago last night and my son is planning to fly to Miss. today from MSP (?)
The RH Christmas concerts will be enjoyed here.
My Christmas concert memories are of brightly lit, crowded elementary school gymnasiums, kids wearing construction paper antlers, parents climbing all over the place with camera equipment, babies crying... I could never figure out the plot .
That Christmas Concert phase is coming to an end and I am imagining what it would be like to hear Peter Ostruschko in concert at Christmas time. There may be a whole different concert experience in my future!
Peace to all
my favorite (although i'm sure i've romaticized it) was in the way old days, in the little wooden lutheran church in our town. the childrens' christmas program was always on christmas eve. there would be a huge, huge tree (looked that big to me, as a little kid) with those big, old fasioned lights - the really big ones. the church was darkened so that the tree lights were lighting the small space. each grade would stand and recite their memorized "pieces" of the christmas story ("and there were, in the same country, shepherds abiding their flocks by night" if my memory serves...)
then carols and finally "Silent Night." very simple but just seemed so magical. as we filed out of the church each child got a paper bag filled with nuts, hard candy, an apple and an orange.
christmas is a favorite time for going to shows with the family. chritmas carol at the guthrie (how was it dale) cinderella at the childrens theater. kevin klings tales arounfd the yule log is a favorite , dylan thomas' christmas in wales at the jungle , the steeles at the ordway, black nativity at the pnumbra. have all been memorable and wonderful. we are so lucky to have access to the best theater in the country.
merry christmas to all the heartlanders
happy memories turn into happy traditions and then into rituals. i hope radio heartlands christmas shows has a chance to become a regular on agenda. looking forward to it.
happy holidays all
great christmas addition. i wll have this on in the morning for sure.
Good morning and merry Christmas eve everyone! Leandra and Neal's show was definitely a favorite, along with several St. Olaf concerts over the years. I second Tim's hope that the RH anniversary/holiday celebration might evolve into an annual tradition.
Dale and Mike, thanks for the music and conversation that will accompany my shoveling in a few minutes!
Peace and safe journeys to all.
Ho,Ho,Ho and Merry Christmas to All,
I did go to one of the Steels Christmas concertes several years ago. I always like hearing music by them and I liked that concert.
As some of you might know, my son-in-law Zack Kline, is a professional musican, and has been playing in Christmas shows lately. This year he was in the Katie McMahon shows and last year he was in a show in which Katy McMahon toured with the O'niel Brothers.
Christmas shows are money makers for some musicans, but not always the best show case for a creative musican like Zack. .
Luther College concerts and then events at Versterheim museum first weekend in December for 4 years.
Barb, meant to add this for you: last Sunday my daughter's church was exactly what you described, right down to the fruit.
Barb beautiful concert picture you painted!
thanx for the last song, always a favorite
i listened to the Nola and the 12 days of xmas this am to get a good laugh (every time!) and practiced yoga and now off to sell books all day
happy holidays everyone
The Concordia Christmas concert in Moorhead is spine chilling.
Morning, y'all---so, what's your snow situation??
I attended holiday concerts by Michael Johnson several years and loved them---began seeing him in concert when i was about 13 years old back in Sioux Falls, so there's some nostalgic enhancement involved.
so, play some more jethro tull? his Christmas Song? (many gifts do come with strings attached) :-)
i've joined the community choir here in the little town of Kanab, and i really enjoyed our christmas concert dec. 13--lots of townspeople came and it was very festive and fun to be a singer for a change instead of a listener!
Have to give up this computer for my daughter to prepare for services that will probably not be held tonight.
Merry Christmas, Dale, Mike and all.
Merry Christmas, everyone in Heartland!
My favorite holiday concert was the Steele's Family Christmas concert a few years ago, with my mother, sister and brother-in-law. It was a real variety of delights we all enjoyed and talked about for a long time.
I am looking forward to listening to all the holiday specials that Radio Heartland is presenting today. I've decided not to travel and be snowed in with relatives for more than two days. So I'll be sittin' home with my cat Isis, quiltin' and listenin' to RH, no worries.
in from milking and a batch of chevre set. if we're trapped we'll have focaccia from the freezer, fresh cheese and olive tapanade to sustain us (and lots of wine :-)
and if we can't travel, we can listen to the concerts this afternoon and evening! that schedule sounds fabulous. thanks for the great music today, Dale and Mike (and JASPER, of course) is JASPER sentimental? does JASPER have favorites?
Greetings! I'm going to Blackhoof -- that sounds like a great way to be snowed in, Barb! Probably my favorite Christmas concert was the one I attended at The Cedar with Neal & Leandra. We don't get out much ...
Same in my family growing up -- hard to afford to take big families anywhere. But my fond memories are of my sisters and I singing in the church guitar group. We always performed at midnight mass on Christmas Eve and we usually sang for 15-20 minutes before mass started as well.
We weren't allowed to play in the big cathedral-like upper church -- we played in the lower church and had our own "following." Probably didn't hurt that Tessie would be swinging her hips while banging a tambourine on her hip! Nearly got her excommunicated ...
Barb, JASPER does not play favorites.
JASPER is as unsentimental as they come. In fact, tomorrow (Christmas Day) I'm planning to stay home. In order to do that, I had to let JASPER pick the music so I could record the announcements around his choices. I had to PLEAD to get more Christmas music into the schedule. In some cases I overruled JASPER, though that kind of behavior is destabilizing and uncharitable on Christmas day.
So tomorrow will be less Christmas-sy than today, but I get to stay home! That's what it means to cut bargains with JASPER.
When I was a kid, my grandfather directed a Norwegian male chorus that did a Christmas concert and party every year. Along with the chorus singing, all the grandkids (and a few kids, but mostly grandkids of the chorus) had the opportunity to perform as well - a piece on the piano, the inevitable rendition of "Rudolph" (including the side comments about "reindeer games...like poker"), whatever instrument was new, etc. They all run together in my memory now - but there are voices from that chorus that I can still hear in my mind's ear. And those parties taste like butterscotch candy in my memory (there was a friend of the family who always had those candies in his pockets and would slip them to us kids).
God Jul!
Mike, Dale & listeners everywhere,
Blessings and Peace to you at this special time of year.
What wonderful music you've chosen for us to enjoy today, this evening and Christrmas Day! Thank you! Am very much looking forward to the three concerts. We'll hunker down, stay close to home and our RH stream.
Was pleased to receive an email from Abbott John Klassen of St. John's Abbey in Collegeville announcing that a live video broadcast of the Concert and Midnight Mass of Christmas at Saint John’s Abbey will be available beginning at 11:15 p.m. on Dec. 24 by going to saintjohnsabbey.org and clicking on the Midnight Mass link. Mass begins at midnight.
thanks, Anna and All for a pleasant morning. now i gotta get going to my Mom's. think i better, because i'm worried we won't get in tomorrow.
thanks again, everyone
stay safe and warm
travel safe, barb and all others who are travellin'--
and merry christmas---
My main concert memories are of the ones we put on at school. Our junior high programs were my favorite. We had a wonderful director who believed secular music was for amateurs. It was her tradition to have the chorus enter the darkened gym each carrying a single lit candle and singing, Oh Come All Ye Faithful. Very pretty.
Kay - in Sioux Falls we have 3 inches. They're predicting 12-18 by Sat.
The kids came yesterday and the house smells terrific because the girls are making cookies. I'll be at the computer for a few hours doing report cards. Not a bad job with RH along.
Merry Christmas Eve, Heartlanders.
My son went to a Waldorf School for first 2 years, and they had a lovely Christmas musical program ritual with a candle lighting element to it. I also did something in our church similar to Barb's - thanks for that memory Barb! Otherwise, I second Joanne about Neal and Leandra.
I'm kind of looking forward to being snowed in (looks like we have 4 inches of snow, Kay) and listening to concerts later today. Glad you're at home tomorrow, Dale. Have a great Christmas, all.
Just remembered: one year the Methodist Church in our town put on a production of Amahl and the Night Visitors, and enlisted singers from other churches; my mom and I got to be in the chorus, and the music was so beautiful...
I just caught the DC Show in rebroadcast, and I have to say Thanks, Dale and Mike, for a stellar :) selection of Christmas music. You must have had a fine time putting all that together. Meerrrrry Christmas!
My wife and I were fortunate to attend Billy McLaughlin and the Simple Gifts ensemble when they played here in Albert Lea several weeks ago. Excellent - perhaps you could do something with this group of Minnesota-based musicians next year, having already had Billy as a guest on RH.
- Become a Member
- Member Connect Accounts
- Leadership Circle
- Sustaining Members
- Member Discounts
- Become a Sponsor
- Tax Information
- Planned Giving
- Vehicle Donation
- Donate Stock