Nearly 40 years ago, Terry Austin, Ph.D., then-director bands, proposed a concert featuring every instrument area from the VCUarts Department of Music. Richard Koehler, who was chair of the department at the time, had a counter-suggestion. What if the concert was a holiday gala, with the event’s proceeds going to support a local organization?
The event has since become a Richmond tradition, and the department is set to host the 38th annual Holiday Gala on Friday, Dec. 5.
The program continues to follow the original proposal, with a range of holiday classics performed by students from the VCU Jazz Combo; guitar, percussion, and saxophone ensembles; the Commonwealth Singers; and the Symphonic Wind Ensemble. Repertoire will include, among others, “Greensleeves,” “Sleigh Ride,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” the traditional Spanish carol “El Noi de la Marre,” and an audience singalong to “It’s Christmas.”
Proceeds from the event—as well as the sale of the poinsettias decorating the stage—will go The Doorways, a Richmond-area nonprofit that serves thousands of guests who are patients and families of patients receiving care at VCU Health and other local medical centers. The Doorways provides a home-away-from-home for those experiencing a medical crisis and promotes the healing process in a caring and supportive environment—all without regard to a family’s ability to pay.