It’s Not Too Early To Start Looking At Next Season’s Holiday Show Options

Christmas may be over but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be thinking about what your group should do for the 2014/15 holiday season. To that end, do yourself a favor and take a look at A Christmas Carol: The Concert, which is currently airing on Public Broadcasting System (PBS). A production of WTTW in Chicago, the show features music composed and arranged by Bob Christianson with lyrics & book adaptation by Alisa Hauser.

ADAPTISTRATION-GUY-080In addition to the national air time on PBS (check your local listings to see if it is scheduled in your area), you can watch the entire production online through 12/30/2013 and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performed a live version on 12/16/13 and 12/17/13.

In full disclosure mode, the PBS/ WTTW production featured Inside The Arts author (and my wife) Holly Mulcahy as concertmaster and soloist but even though they recorded the program in the Chicago area back in May, I didn’t watch the production until it was broadcast live here in Chicago last week. It is a genuinely terrific program with excellent music and production values. I receive no recompense from the show producers for recommending the program, which I wholeheartedly do.

Simply put, it’s enjoyable to watch and an excellent program that isn’t something just for big budget ensembles.

A Christmas Carol: The Concert was directed for stage by David Kersnar, conducted by Amy Duran, produced for television by Scott Silberstein and directed/edited by Matt Hoffman; both from HMS Media (Under The Streetlamp & Messiah Rocks).

The official website has technical specs etc. along with promo material and the official PBS full length video is below (but I suspect it will be deactivated after 12/30/13). For whatever reason, the full length video begins with the 0:20 promo but don’t let that fool you, the rest of the program begins immediately thereafter.

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

Related Posts

2 thoughts on “It’s Not Too Early To Start Looking At Next Season’s Holiday Show Options”

Leave a Comment