Music calls forth memories, whether happy or sad, but no tunes seem as evocative as those played during the holiday season.
“It just takes us back to our childhoods,” said pianist Rich Ridenour. “For me, it takes me back to my childhood and all the mystery and magic of Christmas.”
Jazz vocalist Amy Banks said no matter what the holiday, the music is part of the pattern of our traditions.
“From the religious carols to ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer;’ it’s part of the fabric of who we are,” she said. “That’s for any holiday music.”
For Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra’s “Mistletoe Magic” program this month, Ridenour and Banks will perform holiday favorites accompanied by the Messiah College Concert Choir and Susquehanna Children’s Chorale.
With Stuart Malina conducting, the program will include “Christmas Time is Here,” “Joy to the World,” “Carol of the Bells,” “Rhapsody in Blue Christmas,” the “Hallelujah Chorus” and more.
With Ridenour and Banks, the program is expected to have a special magic – Ridenour infusing his splendid arrangements with humor and comedy; and Banks, a torch singer with a wonderful smoky-sounding voice that evokes many emotions.
“I hope my strong suit is evoking emotion in the music I sing,” said the modest singer who lives in Lancaster and has performed around the world including, earlier this year, her European club debut at Jazz Club Soyouz Kompozitorov in Moscow.
Like Christmas music, jazz endures, Banks said. “I think jazz, in a lot of ways, is ageless,” she said. “Jazz is an art that requires some maturity.”
From his home in Jacksonville, Fla., where he’s involved in helping underprivileged youth access music education and instruments (he organized placing pianos around the city for anyone to sit down and play), Ridenour talked about the effect of comedy between performances of Beethoven and Gershwin.
“I think it draws the audience in more and draws a wider audience,” he said. “You can have fun with music.”
Like Christmas music, their instruments – Banks’ vocals, Ridenour’s piano – evoke something about them as people, about who they are.
“I can feel awful all day long and then I sit down at the piano and I feel great,” Ridenour said.
Speaking of herself, Banks said, “It’s a blessing to have a genre that you can relate to so strongly.”
Christmas music is no doubt a blessing to many, and so are its performers.
Mistletoe Magic is 8 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 8 and 3 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 9 at the Forum in Harrisburg. Tickets are $12 to $45, depending on seating location, and available online at www.HarrisburgSymphony.org or by calling 717-545-5527.
