Spotlight
Concert to feature holiday songs
A new spirit lights up this weekend's Holiday Pops concert presented by the Las Vegas Philharmonic.
Audiences still will hear traditional favorites, from "The 12 Days of Christmas" to "O Holy Night," promises Philharmonic music director David Itkin.
In addition, "there are also a number of more modern Christmas classics that were originally recorded by singers like Amy Grant and other contemporary Christian groups," he says.
Extending the musical celebration, "a wonderful arrangement of Hanukkah music by the outstanding Canadian arranger Howard Cable" pays tribute to the Jewish Festival of Lights, Itkin adds.
Guest artists include local soprano Athena Mertes, mezzo soprano Leslie Harper and tenor Matthew Newman, along with the Las Vegas Master Singers, under the direction of Jocelyn K. Jensen.
The Holiday Pops concerts are at 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in Artemus Ham Hall at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. Tickets, priced from $26 to $73, are available by telephone at 895-2787 or online at www.lvphil.com.
