Philharmonic’s holiday show could be start of new local tradition

A boy — and his snowman.

Add an orchestra and you have the centerpiece for this weekend's Las Vegas Philharmonic holiday concerts: "The Snowman."

Philharmonic music director Donato Cabrera doesn't know whether the performances (two on Saturday, one on Sunday) represent the start of a new holiday tradition or an only-for-2015 celebration.

But he does know one thing: "The Snowman" is "so charming."

Cabrera knows that from experience, because he's conducted "The Snowman" before — at the San Francisco Symphony.

He's still a resident conductor for the San Francisco orchestra and when he started on the job, he "conducted a lot of the holiday shows," he notes.

One of the symphony musicians, who had children, asked Cabrera if he'd ever heard of "The Snowman," a half-hour BBC animated short that debuted in 1982, earning an Oscar nomination for best animated short subject.

Cabrera hadn't, but his colleague told him, " 'You know, I heard a couple of orchestras are doing it — and it's a big deal.' "

So, the following year, the San Francisco Symphony performed the score live, while the audience watched "The Snowman." They did the same thing the next year, and the year after that, with "multiple performances" each time, Cabrera recalls.

So, when Cabrera came to Las Vegas, he brought "The Snowman" with him.

"The thing is, except for one song, it's a silent film," according to the conductor. (Boy soprano Noah Pastor, a student at Cashman Middle School, sings the one song.)

The hand-drawn animation brings to life Raymond Briggs' illustrated children's book, about a boy who builds a snowman that magically comes to life, launching the pair on a series of fanciful adventures — all to the accompaniment of Howard Blake's score.

Even with a short film, the challenge of leading live orchestral accompaniment is "still very hard," says Cabrera. (Although not as difficult as conducting the score for Charlie Chaplin's classic comedy "The Gold Rush," which Cabrera cites as the most difficult live score he's conducted.)

"There's no give and take," he explains. "There's no stop. If you get off (sync) with the film by one millisecond ... "

Although "The Snowman" provides the theme for this year's Philharmonic holiday concert, the program includes the proverbial "something for everyone," according to David Weiller, artistic director of the Las Vegas Master Singers, the Philharmonic's official chorus in residence.

Weiller will conduct the 80-member group in two a cappella pieces: Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Wassail Song," which he describes as "light and bubbly," and the "warm, contemplative" — and contrasting — mood of Morten Lauridsen's "O Magnum Mysterium," a 20-year-old setting of a Latin text that's at least 400 years old.

The Master Singers also will join the orchestra for "Songs of Freedom: A Celebration of Chanukah" and "The Many Moods of Christmas," a suite of carols that includes "Angels We Have Heard on High" and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing."

There's also "a very interesting arrangement" of "Do You Hear What I Hear?" that Cabrera suggested, according to Weiller. UNLV's choral director, Weiller became the Master Singers' musical director when predecessor Jocelyn Jensen stepped down after 13 years.

Rounding out the Philharmonic's holiday program: two selections from Tchaikovsky's beloved "Nutcracker Suite," Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride" and an audience sing-along to such favorites as "Jingle Bells," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town."

(Not only is Santa Claus coming to town, he's coming to The Reynolds Hall lobby before the concerts begin, so arrive early for photo ops.)

When it comes to creating a holiday program, there are "two trains of thought," Cabrera says. "One: create a show that becomes a tradition and we could do that every year." After all, "people love traditions" at holiday time.

Or "you do something new every year," he adds. "That can be a real challenge."

As for whether this year's "The Snowman" will be the first of many Las Vegas Philharmonic renditions, "we'll see" is all Cabrera says — for now.

"Even though it's really hard, I actually love" conducting the "Snowman" score, he admits. "I love the fact that so many kids know it."

For more stories from Carol Cling go to reviewjournal.com. Contact her at ccling@reviewjournal.com and follow @CarolSCling on Twitter.