DEAR FRIENDS

Happy Holidays! I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. With our concert season off to a great start and the holidays now beginning, we stroll on towards our next exciting weekend of great music, which couples our Side-by-Side Messiah Sing-Along with two Hersch for the Holidays “classics meets jazz” programs.

Fred Hersch is a Grammy-nominated, quintessential cross-over artist – a composer and pianist who has arranged many favorite classical pieces for jazz trios and chamber orchestras.

Fred was featured in the concert celebrating the re-opening of the Southern Theatre in 1998. He regularly performs all around the world, and we are delighted that he will be returning to the Southern, this time with ProMusica.

This month’s very special set of concerts will be directed by ProMusica’s Principal Trumpet Tom Battenberg; our very versatile cross-over artist. Tom is well known in Columbus as the consummate musician – classical trumpeter, jazz artist, conductor, and arranger. He is the perfect person to lead this concert as he lives in both the classical and jazz worlds. See the following page for more information on Tom and his thoughts about the upcoming performance.

In addition to our very festive Saturday and Sunday programs, we also invite you to join ProMusica and many of our friends to share in the joys of the miraculous choruses from Handel’s Messiah on Friday evening. Bring your own score, or you can purchase one at the theatre. Come and sing, or just come to listen. But do not miss what has become a universally praised holiday tradition.

The holidays are a time for giving thanks and sharing. My colleagues in the orchestra join me in inviting you to share time with us this season. I give thanks for them, as I do for you. Please invite your family and friends to join you in experiencing the delights of great music. Share the gift of ProMusica!

Happy Holidays to you and yours. I look forward to seeing you all in January, as we celebrate the New Year!

Yours sincerely,



Timothy Russell
Music Director