Holiday Brass
An Annual Sitka Tradition
It started with a suggestion. Two Sitka Fine Arts Camp board members proposed to director Roger Schmidt that he produce a brass concert to celebrate the holidays. From that simple idea an annual Sitka tradition was born.
20 years ago, the first Holiday Brass concerts were made up of quartets and quintets, appearing at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Most of the early musicians were from Sitka, with an occasional “outsider” included. When the Sitka Performing Arts Center was completed in 2008, the group doubled in size to 10 brass members plus percussion.
“This is my favorite event of the year,” says Schmidt.
“Think of an emotional arc - the experience should be cathartic.”
Nowadays, the process for creating Holiday Brass begins in August at the end of Sitka Fine Arts Camp’s summer programming. “I have a brainstorming folder where I keep music that interests me but we haven’t had the opportunity to use. I usually pick one piece that helps build the entire program for that year.” Schmidt also checks to see what other symphonies around the country are playing. This becomes his rough draft for the show.
Schmidt works hard to make every Holiday Brass event unique. “I try to include music that will be recognizable to the audience. I also select lesser known works, often exploring the sacred side of the holidays.” Each piece is intentionally placed within the program. “Think of an emotional arc - the experience should be cathartic. You should laugh. You should cry. You should feel the ‘humanhood’ of people from all over the globe.”
Other home-grown Sitka musicians who often play are Paul Cox (Percussion), Ross Venneberg (Trumpet) and Ed Littlefield (Percussion). Littlefield is currently working on a long-term project to create the first Tlingit opera. With an all-indigenous cast, the opera will combine Tlingit melodies with the western opera genre.
The rest of the lineup is composed of top musicians from around the country. “We’ve had people from the San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Seattle Symphony, and the National Symphony Orchestra.” The ensemble now boasts a full brass and percussion orchestra and special guest vocalists.
“We’ve also had professional lighting designers create dazzling displays to complement the evening’s music.”
Each year, the makeup of the band is slightly different. Musician selection is particularly important because of the short production time. “We have five rehearsals over three days once everyone arrives in Sitka.”
Often there are surprises during the concert. The acoustics of the Performing Arts Center allow musicians to break from the stage and perform in multiple locations throughout the theater. “We’ve also had professional lighting designers create dazzling displays to complement the evening’s music.”
In 2021, Holiday Brass took their show on the road, heading to Utqiagvik (Barrow, Alaska) for three days. “We played music in the schools and gave a community performance. I would absolutely love to share more around Alaska in the future.”
With all of this, many Sitka families make Holiday Brass part of their yearly celebration. A mere suggestion created a major holiday tradition.
Holiday Brass 2024 takes place Saturday, December 21 at 7:30pm at Sitka Performing Arts Center. Get tickets online at fineartscamp.org.
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