Welcome to another edition of our monthly music feature, where we highlight a local artist and upcoming shows from local acts. The festive spirit is all around the DMV, so why not lean into the holiday cheer and highlight the best local holiday shows now until the end of the year?
🎙️ Spotlight: National Symphony Orchestra
Background:
One of the greatest parts of living in the nation’s capital is the access to world-renowned musical talent. The National Symphony Orchestra is one of these. Their holiday show lineup this season culminates in a showstopping ensemble of modern pop culture artistry while incorporating classic holiday carols and motifs we all know and love. We spoke with NSO conductors Steven Reineke, Tim Davies, and Lloyd Butler about the upcoming performances and their musical memories attached to the holidays. ‘Tis the season to embrace Yuletide carols being sung by the fire (or at your favorite venue)!
Get To Know the Conductors:
Steven Reineke
Principal Pops Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra
What can people expect from the upcoming NSO holiday programming?
Lots of fun for the whole family. I love doing holiday concerts, and so does our guest artist, Jessica Vosk. I love, getting down to the spirit of the season and the meaning of Christmas, and spending time with family and friends,
Growing up, you would often teach yourself how to play movie scores. What’s your favorite holiday movie score?
One of the first songs I ever played on the piano was a “Charlie Brown Christmas.” I loved all that Vince Guaraldi music. I was playing trumpet in this band, we get to the “Charlie Brown Christmas” song and I put my trumpet down and went to the piano. My mom and dad were in the audience, and somebody said to my parents, “Oh, I didn't know Steven played the piano.” And they said, “Neither did we.”
You will be performing at The Anthem for the NSO Ugly Sweater Concert. Are you looking forward to playing at that venue?
I love being down there in that neighborhood. I love getting the orchestra out to the people, rather than having them come to us — although coming to The Kennedy Center is pretty darn cool. We can make the orchestra sound great at The Anthem and I am always surprised at how big the space is.
Congratulations on your recent 100th performance! Which artists do you feel have influenced you the most in your career?
The great film composer, John Williams has been a real inspiration for me. Leonard Bernstein as well, was one of my early, early influences.
Last song you listened to?
“The Greatest Love of All” by Whitney Houston. I have been immersed in Whitney for the last couple of days because highlighting her music is part of my next project.
NSO at the Kennedy Center. (Photo by Scott Suchman)
Tim Davies
Grammy-nominated composer and arranger; Conductor and orchestrator for “KEM: Home for the Holidays”
You are conducting an upcoming holiday show with R&B singer-songwriter KEM. What can people expect?
KEM just sent me his ideas for the opener, so I will mash them with my ideas, and we'll have this big opening number for him to walk out to, so it's a true collaboration. It’s a mix of KEM classics and songs off his Christmas album. He’s already recorded and played these songs, so now we’re putting the orchestra with it, and coming up with new versions.
You’ve collaborated with a range of artists (Dua Lipa, Babyface, Ne-Yo) and orchestrated/conducted countless TV and film projects (“Frozen” franchise, “La La Land”, “WandaVision”, “Agatha All Along”, “Snow White”). Which artists influence you the most?
My favorite classical composer, from a harmonic and orchestration perspective, would probably be Sergei Prokofiev. My favorite score he composed is “Alexander Nevsky.” When I am arranging, I like the classics like the old Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and composer Nelson Riddle.
What’s one thing you feel the general public doesn’t understand about arrangers?
Arrangers collaborate by taking someone else’s tune and working with it. There are parameters. We’ve got to make sure no one is shocked or freaked out while still changing it enough to put our own spin on it. If you want to have a sweeping string right in the introduction that's the technical part, but you also got to know when to put that in and that's the creative part. Arrangers get a kick out of that sort of thing.
Last album/performance you listened to?
Every party I have, I play this one concert of Peter Gabriel's, the “Secret World Live” tour. It's great. It’s three hours, and then I can kick everyone out of the party when it’s over.
Celtic Woman performing. (Courtesy of Celtic Woman)
Lloyd Butler
Touring Conductor for Celtic Woman
Celtic Woman have hit their 20-year mark. How have the shows changed over the years?
When you look at the core of what Celtic Woman's about, it is about highlighting female Irish musicians. We've had over 18 members in the group throughout 20 years. The group has evolved musically in the overall sound, but still stays true to the mission of Celtic Woman. If you look at the original albums, there was a bit more of a classical sound to it, whereas we now have opened up more to a contemporary sound.
What can people expect from this year’s holiday show?
We have 12 to 13 new arrangements by our music director Brian Byrne. He has written a lot of beautiful new arrangements of famous Christmas carols that we all know, but they're going to have an Irish twist to them. And we are excited to have one of our former members, Lisa Lambe, returning for the Christmas tour.
What are you looking forward to for the holidays?
It'll sound cliche, but I love the music of the holiday season, so the joy of making that music night in and night out, and of course, we're all over the country performing with all kinds of fantastic orchestras, and it just doesn't get much better than that.
Favorite Christmas carol?
From the Celtic Woman, I have to say “Carol of the Bells,” but in general there are so many. “Oh Holy Night” is a classic and I’m quite a fan of all the ’50s, jazzier versions of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “Let It Snow.” They just get you into the spirit.
Follow:
🎟️ Upcoming Local Holiday Shows To See
- NSO Ugly Sweater Holiday Concert | Dec. 4 | 7:30 p.m. | $25+ | The Anthem
- NSO Notes of Honor: A Holiday Pops! | Dec. 5 - 7 |Various times | $45 | The Kennedy Center
- Matt Rogers: The Prince of Christmas Tour | Dec. 6 | 8 p.m. | $45 | 9:30 Club
- Merry Metal Flashband Showcase | Dec. 14 | 8 p.m. | $20+ | Songbyrd
- KEM: Home for the Holidays | Dec. 11 - 12 | 8 p.m. | $59+ | The Kennedy Center
- Celtic Woman White Christmas Symphony Tour | Dec. 13 - 14 | Various Times | $29+ | The Kennedy Center
🎵 Local Music Mentions (Holiday Edition)
Want a chance to win a pair of tickets to every show at the 9:30 Club and The Atlantis next year, while also supporting local organizations, like Martha’s Table, SOME, and D.C. Central Kitchen? The I.M.P. venues’ annual raffle is open now through December 31st. You can enter two ways: donate canned goods or gently used clothing at 9:30 Club or make a monetary donation online.
🎧 Your November Local Music Playlist
Check out this Spotify playlist we made, featuring Butler, Davies, and Reineke’s projects, songs from collaborators, and inspirations.
