Grab your coats and bundle up because on Saturday, December 20th the Billings Symphony will take the stage with Narrator Dan Nickerson and Guest Conductor James Lowe to tell Charles Dickens’ endearing tale of Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey of redemption.
The evening will also have many timeless, traditional selections including Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Greensleeves and Bizet’s rousing Farandole. The performance ends with an audience singalong of favorite carols that is sure to remind you of warm holiday memories.
An immediate hit at its release in December of 1843, the first run of A Christmas Carol had 6,000 copies and was sold out by Christmas Eve. A second edition and even a third edition were issued before the new year, and the book hasn’t been out of print since. And while the book was expensive to produce, since it had color illustrations and festive endpapers, Dickens insisted that the cost of the book would be no greater than 5 shillings that way it was more accessible to all. This novel was Dickens’ way of speaking out against British social attitude toward poverty, specifically child poverty, and his view on how it is the responsibility of the wealthiest to share their good fortune is a major theme throughout the story.
This isn’t the first time the Billings Symphony has done A Christmas Carol, the last time was in 2017 for Holiday Pops: A Dickens Christmas. Dan Nickerson will be reprising his role as Narrator for this concert. He graduated from Cornish College of the Arts in 2010 with a BFA in theatre. Since moving to Billings in 2011, he has worked with BST, Venture, NOVA, Sacrifice Cliff, YRT, Billings Symphony and Helena Theatre Company as an actor, educator, director, designer, builder, and technician. After working as Youth Director at NOVA from 2013-2019, Dan founded Black Tie Productions where he makes his living as a DJ, karaoke host, entertainer, and educator.
Guest Conductor, James Lowe, is equally at home in opera and musical theater, a Grammy-nominated conductor he continues to earn acclaim for his “beautifully sculpted” performances (Opera News). In the 25/26 season, he makes notable debuts with the Shakespeare Theatre Company for Guys and Dolls, Chicago Opera Theatre for Der Silbersee, Billings Symphony Orchestra for their Holiday Concert, and The Pheonix Symphony for two programs: The Music of Elton John and Dolly Parton’s Threads: My songs in Symphony.
A Christmas Carol is scheduled for Saturday, December 20, at the Alberta Bair Theater. The performance begins at 7:30PM, doors open at 6:30PM, Pre-Concert Cues begin at 6:40PM. To purchase tickets, call 406-256-6052 or visit www.billingssymphony.org.
