Jerry Bell barely had time to catch his breath after last month’s Fall That Jazz fundraiser for Nameless Creek Youth Camp before organizing the Brandywine Wind jazz band to play at the Dec. 2 Christmas at the Ricks variety show. And Friday, Bell, as director of the Brandywine Wind concert band, will take center stage again as the organizer and a performer at Christmastide Celebration 2018, at 7 p.m. at Trinity Park Church.
Sponsored by Greenfield Sertoma, the seventh-annual Christmastide Celebration features the Brandywine Wind’s concert performance of “A Classical Christmas.”
“We’re doing Christmas music that has been written all through the centuries that has collectively become the heart of the Christmas spirit,” Bell said.
The performance lineup includes a medley from Peter Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker”; music from George Frideric Handel’s “The Messiah”; and a Johann Sebastian Bach chorale.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
“The concert will also spotlight some great old-world European carols,” Bell said, “‘Forest Green,’ ‘The Wassail Song’ and ‘The Sussex Carol.’”
Additionally, dancers from Wilkerson Dance Studio will perform an interpretive dance to a classical arrangement of “Greensleeves,” better known at Christmastime as “What Child is This?”
“We choreographed that specifically to be live with the orchestra just for this show,” said director Debbie Wilkerson.
Next to Bell, Wilkerson may be the second-busiest person in Hancock County this holiday season. Like Bell, Wilkerson is a member of the Friends of the Theater board and was heavily involved in Christmas at the Ricks. Wilkerson dancers performed several numbers for the Dec. 2 event. Wilkerson Dance’s annual “Nutcracker and Holiday Spectacular” presented two performances just last weekend. And as something of an encore, dancers from the studio will be an integral part of Christmastide Celebration 2018.
Wilkerson’s dancers will present a variety of dance styles: An adult jazz class will perform to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo;” three classes will combine for a rhythmic rendition of “O, Come, All Ye Faithful;” and a contemporary class will dance to “Hallelujah.”
The proceeds from the event will benefit Sertoma’s Santa’s Helpers. With referrals from Hancock County Christmas Connection, the group purchases clothing and other necessities for children in need. In past years, Santa’s Helpers has served up to 200 children annually.
In addition to the dancing and musical entertainment, Santa and Mrs. Claus will be on hand for photos for $3 each, and Christmas pies will be for sale for $8 each in the lobby. More than 100 pies have been donated by Lincoln Square Pancake House, Jim Dandy, Cracker Barrel, Kroger, O’Charley’s, Wal-Mart and Wick’s Pies, Bell said.
Bell and Wilkerson don’t mind their busy schedules, especially when it comes to good causes such as Sertoma’s Santa’s Helpers.
“I’ve always thought it was important to participate in community activities,” Wilkerson said. “It’s just another way to give back to our community, and it’s a great lesson for the kids to learn, too.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Christmastide Celebration 2018
7 p.m. Friday
Trinity Park United Methodist Church, 207 W. Park Ave., Greenfield
Tickets are $6 at the door
Photos with Santa are available for $3 each
Sertoma will be selling pies for $8 in the lobby
[sc:pullout-text-end]
