MSO conductor candidate Willis leads holiday pops concert

Alastair Willis

The Memphis Symphony Orchestra's holiday pops concert "Home for the Holidays" has been performed for 16 years, with the theme remaining the same but the content changing, depending on who conducts.

"This will be my seventh 'Home for the Holidays' concert," says Ryan Fleur, MSO president and CEO, "and it will be the seventh different conductor leading the program."

Alastair Willis

Leading the orchestra will be Alastair Willis, one of the candidates vying to succeed retiring conductor and music director David Loebel. Willis, former associate conductor of the Seattle Symphony, led the MSO in October in a concert featuring the Brahms First Symphony.

The featured vocalist is noted operatic soprano Lisa Vroman, who will sing several seasonal favorites, including "Rejoice Greatly," "Sweet Little Jesus Boy"/"Some Children See Him" and "Go Tell It on the Mountain."

Also on stage will be the Memphis Symphony Chorus and University of Memphis University Singers performing "O Magnum Mysterium" and "A Musicological Journey through the Twelve Days of Christmas" -- plus a carol sing-along.

A new conductor will be chosen early next year and that person will help shape the future of the orchestra's pops concert offerings. Fleur says the series will always aim to be fun and entertaining, but how it sustains that will be a challenge for the new music director.

"Will it shift maybe toward the baby boomers by having a rock and roll series?" Fleur asks. "It's going to depend -- each of the candidates we've been talking to have a very different vision for the series."

Fleur points to the orchestra's relationship with Steven Reineke, a conductor who has led MSO pops concerts in the past and has a couple of more engagements coming early next year -- the Elvis tribute concert and a celebration of film music.

"This is a fellow who's been a large part of the artistic voice in the Cincinnati Pops for years and years, so we're bringing a high level of excellence to the program," Fleur says.

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Memphis Symphony Orchestra's 'Home for the Holidays'

Guest conductor Alastair Willis, vocalist Lisa Vroman, the Memphis Symphony Chorus and University of Memphis University Singers led by Dr. Lawrence Edwards. 8 p.m. Saturday at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, 255 N. Main. Tickets: $28 to $78 (children under 10 receive a free ticket with regular paid adult admission). Call 537-2525 or go to memphissymphony.org.

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