How’s your Christmas shopping going? Have you wrestled with your fellow man over the last toys in shopping centres?
With each passing year, I find the run up to Christmas increasingly stressful; there is simply never the time to do all that you plan to do, meet all the people you plan to meet, nor the cash to gift all the gifts you would like to gift. Additionally, as reports of snow in Ireland begin to circulate, my annual ‘will I make it home for Christmas’ panic has begun in earnest.
In all the crazed tearing around that we put ourselves through during the festive period, how often do we miss out on actually enjoying this beautiful festival? How often do we not make the time to enjoy doing nothing, or being entertained, in our loved ones’ company (and passed out with exhaustion together on the couch post-Christmas Day feeding frenzy most certainly does not count)?
This Christmas, we at the BBC National Orchestra of Wales are offering audiences in Cardiff, Swansea and Haverfordwest the perfect antidote to the Yuletide onslaught, with festive concerts suitable for friends and family alike.
We will be joined by Welsh tenor, Wynne Evans at each concert, and our wonderful choirs – with Caerphilly Childrens’ Choir in Cardiff and BBC National Chorus of Wales; Ysgol Gerdd Ceredigion and BBC NCW (second night in a row!) in Swansea; and the Pembrokeshire Youth Choir in Haverfordwest.
Our presenter Wynne Evans
There will of course be seasonal family favourites, many of which have been specially arranged for the Orchestra by Welsh musicians Gareth Glynn and Jeff Howard, but this year I am particularly excited to play music from Disney’s ‘Frozen’. My Goddaughter Rosie is four years old and knows every word of the songs from this cartoon film, and I have to say I think the film itself is pretty good - at least Disney have finally made a princess who isn’t waiting around like some pathetic idiot waiting to be saved by some bland, drab knight in shining armour!
So, as you run around the shops desperately searching for the last few perfect presents, take a little time out and bring your loved ones to one of our Christmas concerts. Take a break from the hysteria of the British High Street at Christmas and let us entertain you and help you get into the Christmas spirit proper. Tickets are selling fast at all three venues, so you will have to be quick!
BBC NOW with Pembrokeshire Youth Choir
I am looking forward to my Christmas annual leave more than ever before. Having spent my summer break studying in Austria, I’ve not had the opportunity to visit my family for a very long stretch, and Christmas in Ireland is something very special to me.
You, however, can see/hear the Orchestra in action on a number of occasions over the Christmas period! Don’t forget to tune in to the Doctor Who Christmas Special on BBC One on Christmas Day, and then on Boxing Day, get your little kids and big kids alike settled in front of BBC Two to watch our cinematic debut Ten Pieces! There is also a free interactive audiobook complimenting Ten Pieces available now, featuring members of the Orchestra (including yours truly!), talking about their instruments.
We at BBC NOW HQ would like to wish all our audience members a very peaceful festive period and we look forward to sharing our music with you in 2015.
Limited tickets are available for all of BBC National Orchestra of Wales’ Christmas Concerts – call 0800 052 1812 or visit bbc.co.uk/now to book.
