The Austin Civic Wind Ensemble celebrates the Christmas concert we've always wanted to play
An evening of holiday music worth the wait
Every wind ensemble has a wish list. Pieces that are too long, too demanding, or too far outside the comfortable holiday formula to squeeze into a December calendar already crowded with concerts and caroling singalongs. Works that deserve a full rehearsal cycle, not just a few run-throughs in early December.
This fall, the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble is doing something a little different. We're giving that wish list its due. Our fall program is built entirely around holiday music, but not the kind you've heard a hundred times. These are pieces with real heft: a fifteen-minute masterwork rooted in Russian Orthodox liturgical chant, a moody Celtic tone poem, carols so cleverly twisted into minor keys that half the audience won't recognize them until the last measure. And yes, a Hanukkah prayer and dance written in three days by a Roman Catholic clarinetist who fooled Jewish band directors into thinking he had unearthed ancient tunes.
The result is a concert that feels like the holidays, but doesn't sound like background music. Whether you're a longtime ACWE audience member or hearing us for the first time, we think you'll find something here that surprises you, and maybe even something that stays with you long after the season is over.