The Phoenix Symphony Presents
Holiday Pops
Friday, November 29, 2024, 7:30 PM
Saturday, November 30, 2024, 2:00 PM
Saturday, November 30, 2024, 7:30 PM
Sunday, December 1, 2024, 2:00 PM
Symphony Hall
Lawrence Loh, Conductor
Katherine Whyte, Soprano
Reginald Smith Jr., Baritone
The Phoenix Symphony Chorus
Dr/ Thomas Bookhout, Chorus Master
Randal Alan Bass
Pietro Yon
Traditional arr. Matthew Jackfert
Gary Fry
Gloria Shayne Baker
Arr. Jim Kessler
Quinn Mason
David Weintraub arr. Gary Fry
Fanfare: Joy To The World
Gesu Bambino
I Saw Three Ships
Sing We Joyous
Do You Hear What I Hear?
Christmas Eve Festivities
Eight Bright Candles
Eric Whitacre Glow
Hugh Martin arr. Jim Kessler
Felix Mendelssohn arr. Gary Fry
John Williams
Jule Styne
arr. Gary Fry
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
INTERMISSION
Somewhere in My Memory from Home Alone
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Anthony Dilorenzo Fum Fum Fun
John Debney
arr. Victor Pesavento Elf Suite
Albert Hague arr. Matthew Naughtin
You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch
Mervyn Warren arr. Gary Fry
Alan Silvestri arr. Gary Fry
John Rutter
Leroy Anderson
John Williams
Who Would Imagine A King
When Christmas Comes To Town from The Polar Express
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Sleigh Ride
Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas from Home Alone
The 2024/25 Holiday season is sponsored by
The 2024/25 Phoenix Pops Series is sponsored by
Lawrence Loh, Conductor
Lawrence Loh is Music Director of Symphoria (Syracuse, NY).
Mr. Loh was Assistant, Associate and Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 2005-2015 and he returns annually to lead a wide variety of programs.
Mr. Loh’s previous positions include: Music Director of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor
of the Syracuse Opera; Music Director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra; Associate Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Associate Conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Denver Young Artists Orchestra.
Mr. Loh received his Artist Diploma in Orchestral Conducting from Yale, his Masters in Choral Conducting from Indiana University and his Bachelor of Arts and Certificate of Management Studies from the University of Rochester. Lawrence Loh was born in southern California of Korean parentage and raised in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He and his wife Jennifer have a son, Charlie, and a daughter, Hilary.
Katherine Whyte, Soprano
Katherine Whyte has delighted audiences and critics alike on opera and concert stages across her native Canada, the United States and Europe. Opera Today has praised her “keen artistic sensibility” while the San Francisco Classical Voice singled out “her glamorous, vibrato-rich voice”. Following her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Ägyptische Helena, she has returned to the company as Brigitta in Iolanta, Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto and Blumenmadchen Parsifal
Recent and upcoming engagements for Ms. Whyte include Countess Almaviva in Le Nozze Di Figaro with Intermountain Opera Bozeman, her debut
with Syracuse’s Symphoria performing Poulenc Gloria; a return to New Choral Society as the Soprano soloist Carmina Burana, a solo recital at Gordon College, her debut with Heartbeat Opera as Agathe Der Freischütz, and Fiordiligi Così Fan Tutte with Opera Grand Rapids. Whyte performed a solo recital with Djordje Nesic at the celebrated Kolarac hall in Belgrade Serbia and was the soprano soloist for Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the Santa Rosa Symphony and Eugene Symphony. Katherine will sing the Poulenc Gloria with the Greensboro Symphony, a Sibelius Concert with the Vallejo Festival Orchestra and On this Island with Cameron Stowe for Music for Food. Upcoming roles include Aminta Il Re Pastore with Orpheus PDX (Portland)
The winner of the 2007 Alice Tully Recital Competition, Ms. Whyte made her Carnegie Hall debut in Solo recital at Weill Hall in 2008.
Reginald Smith Jr., Baritone
GRAMMY and Emmy Awardwinning baritone Reginald Smith, Jr., is lauded as a “passionate performer” (The New York Times) with a voice that is “electric, hall-filling” (The Baltimore Sun), “thrillingly dramatic” (Opera News) and “one of the most exciting baritone sounds to come along in years” (Opera News).
In the 2024-25 season, Smith takes on the roles of Scarpia in Tosca at the New Orleans Opera, Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana with the Sacramento Philharmonic, and returns to Washington National Opera as the title character Porgy in Porgy and Bess. He performs as a featured soloist in concerts with the New Jersey Symphony led by Xian Zhang, the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and in a solo recital at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, South
Carolina. In Spring 2025, Smith makes his Baltimore Symphony Orchestra debut as Amonasro in a staged version of Aida.
Last season, Smith made his Santa Fe Opera debut and returned to the Houston Grand Opera. He sang the role of Amonasro in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of Aida. In concert, he returned as the featured baritone soloist for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas Pops performances.
Born in Atlanta, Smith grew up a dedicated choral student from elementary school onward, double majoring in Vocal Performance and Choral Music Education at the University of Kentucky. While he ultimately chose a performance career, he has channeled his love of teaching into numerous masterclasses, and he has returned to his alma mater both during the 2017-2018 season and to complete a Masters in Vocal Performance degree in the Spring of 2021.