To arrange a visit for your school group, please call (585) 697-1942. Please make reservations at least two weeks in advance.
A special holiday treat bringing you a wide variety of music via the Star Theater's fine sound system, choreographed with colorful and dramatic laser light. The music selections come from the festive, public side of the holiday season. Length about 50 minutes. Especially appropriate for younger children.
NYS Learning Standards: ELA1; SS1(2,3); 2(1); A2,3,4
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Playlist
"Winter" from The Four Seasons by Vivaldi — Gil Shaham & Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Sun Valley Ski Run — Esquivel
Greensleeves — Kenny G
White Christmas — Bing Crosby
"For He Shall Give His Angels Charge Over Thee" from Elijah by Mendelssohn — London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
This Christmas — Yutaka
Raise Your Spirit Higher — Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson — Rochester Pops Orchestra
Badinerie from Suite no. 2 by Bach — Sonos Handbell Ensemble
Let It Snow! — Mitch Miller and the Gang
All I Want for Christmas — Mariah Carey
I Love the Winter Weather — Tony Bennett
Blue Christmas — Elvis Presley
'Twas In the Moon of Wintertime — Cambridge Singers, John Rutter
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree — Brenda Lee
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen — Mannheim Steamroller
Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24) — Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Special thanks to Julia Figueras, Music Director, WXXI-FM, for assistance with musical selections.
About Vivaldi's "Winter"
Our show uses the first movement of "Winter," one of four concertos for violin and string orchestra, "The Four Seasons," by the Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). Each concerto is connected to a poem, possibly written by Vivaldi himself. Vivaldi's genius was to create music that not only illustrates the poems but also stands on its own. Here, in the original Italian and in English translation, are the words connected to the first movement of "Winter":
"Aggiacciato tremar trà neri algenti
Al Severo Spirar d' orrido Vento,
Correr battendo i piedi ogni momento;
E pel Soverchio gel batter i denti
Shivering, frozen mid the frosty snow in biting, stinging winds; running to and fro to stamp one's icy feet, teeth chattering in the bitter chill
For more information
The following web sites (outside RMSC) supply detailed information on calendars and holidays in many world traditions:
http://www.calendarzone.com. "Comprehensive categorized calendar catalog currently containing countless correlating connections & calzone recipes!"
http://www.interfaithcalendar.org. "Primary sacred times for world religions"
For answers to some frequently asked questions about calendars and seasons, check the U.S. Naval Observatory web site. Click on "FAQ," then scroll down to the section on calendars: http://aa.usno.navy.mil
History buffs may be intrigued (and possibly surprised) by the detailed historical study of Christmas celebrations in the United States in the book The Battle for Christmas by Stephen Nissenbaum.