Heart of Texas Orchestra tunes up for Best Christmas Pageant Ever at FBC
Contributed
The Heart of Texas Orchestra performs Dec. 3 at First Baptist Church-Marble Falls (FBC-MF). The full orchestra of musicians from all around the Highland Lakes have been performing their Christmas Concert at events in the area and will bring their music back to FBC-MF during performances of 'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical' on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 15-16. A review of the pageant is included in this story and scenes from the production can be found on the Facebook page for The Highlander.
By Glynis Crawford Smith
The Highlandere
The Hill Country is alive with musicians from country western strummers to jazz and swing bands, but that also includes orchestral musicians looking to add more to their ranks.
The Heart of Texas Orchestra has expanded from 15 people rehearsing in the home of Graham and Mary Jane Avery in Burnet to a full group of instrumentalists.
They play for all sorts of events, including spring and fall concerts, including the Johnson Park Concert in Marble Falls. Right now, they are performing their Christmas Concert at events all across the Highland Lakes.
In fact, everyone attending performances of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical” on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 15-16, at First Baptist Church-Marble Falls (FBC-MF) will hear them as they enter the foyer and at intermission.
“We have strings—violins and cellos—trumpets and trombones, clarinets and flutes,” said Graham. “We have grown until we have a complete percussion section with a timpani drum.”
The orchestra, directed by Bo Boshears of Marble Falls, is especially in want of players of some other woodwinds, namely oboe and bassoon players.
“Any musicians who want to join are welcomed,” Graham hurried to add. “Strings are especially important to an orchestra.”
The range of expression offered by violins, cellos, bases, harps, pianos and guitars have been the foundation of most composers works. So, it is no surprise any orchestra pursues their players.
To find out if the orchestra is for you, attend a weekly rehearsal from 2-4 p.m. Sundays at MF-FBC, 901 La Ventana Drive.
Admission is free to performances of the “Best Christmas Pageant Ever” at the church. They will be staged at 7 p.m. Friday and at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday.
'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical'
The Herdmans (also known as the worst kids in the history of the world) are about to invade the Highland Lakes, and that spells trouble for everyone. Their story is told in “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical.”
“You don’t want to miss what happens when this family of misfits storms the local church decides to take over the annual Christmas pageant,” said director Meaghan Chandler. “Once all is said and done, neither the Herdmans nor the church folk will ever be the same again.”
“We have loved this story for what seems like forever and have been itching to tell it,” said Chandler. “We think we have seen ourselves in every role at some point in our lives, and in the end, it all comes down to needing Jesus – from the goody two shoes, to the rebel, from the reverend, to the choir director.
“This heartwarming, hilarious tale draws us in and speaks to the way we treat each other. It has the potential to reveal the parts of us that need work as well as the power to inspire us to great love. It makes us laugh and cry, and we can’t wait for the community to see it.”
The story by Johanna Beecham and Malcom Hillgarten is adapted from the popular book by Barbara Robinson.
“We've taken the story and set it in the early '60s, and the songs reflect the pop and country styles of the time,” says Beecham. “Commissioned by the Children's Theatre of Charlotte, North Carolina, BCPE-TM had its world premiere Nov. 25, 2016, and broke all box office records during its run, making it the best-selling production in the 68-year history of that theatre.”
