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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The American Festival Pops Orchestra (AFPO), conducted by Maestro Peter Wilson, returns to the Hylton Performing Arts Center on December 12 and the Center for the Arts on December 13. Over 60 professional musicians create AFPO’s vibrant sound, including local instrumentalists, faculty from George Mason’s Dewberry School of Music, and members of United States military ensembles. AFPO’s upcoming program, Holiday Pops: Songs of the Season, sets the festive mood for all audiences, with everything from jazzy tunes and a Broadway melody to an original piece by a George Mason alumnus.
Maestro Peter Wilson has served as the conductor and artistic director of AFPO since the 2022-2023 season, the culmination of 12 years serving as the orchestra’s concertmaster and principal violinist following the retirement of Maestro Anthony Maiello. We sat down to talk with Peter about the magic of this season’s program.
A unique number narrated by College of Visual and Performing Arts Dean Rick Davis, Yes, Virginia! (There is a Santa Claus), is included in this year’s program. What makes this piece special?
Several elements make “Yes, Virginia! (There is a Santa Claus)” special, not the least of which is that it was composed by Mason alum Vincent Oppido, who has gone on to have great success in Hollywood as a film and television composer. Of course, this beautiful setting was inspired by the famous editorial first published in September 1897 by New York newspaper The Sun in response to a letter by eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon, who inquired as to whether Santa Claus was real. Vinny has become a dear friend of mine and the AFPO, having provided several wonderful arrangements over the years, but his original music to this source material of “Yes, Virginia” is so heartwarming, and it perfectly captures the holiday spirit, tapping into the child in all of us. As always, I’m so honored to share the stage with Rick Davis, and Vinny also includes the voice of a young girl, which adds to the magic of this great work.
The Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble is featured on the program. How was prominently showcasing student performers in an AFPO performance particularly rewarding?
We’re actually featuring the Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble (MJVE) on two selections this year—“Jingle Bell Boogie Woogie” and “The Christmas Song.” While I think it is so important to give this amazing student ensemble the opportunity to sing with the AFPO in a professional setting each year, the truth is that they have become an audience favorite. Directed by the incredible Darden Purcell, their fearless leader, the MJVE brings a contagious energy and stunning vocal talents that bring the house down. Featuring the MJVE is one of my favorite elements of these Holiday Pops shows.
Professor Darden Purcell is highlighted throughout the program as vocalist. How does Professor Purcell add to the holiday flair of this season’s concert?
Dr. Purcell is a staple of AFPO shows, and I simply cannot imagine our Holiday Pops “Songs of the Season” shows without her. In addition to preparing better and better Mason Jazz Vocal groups every year, Dr. Purcell brings a unique class and elegance to every performance. As they say, I could listen to her sing the phone book. I cannot wait to hear her vocal solo “Christmas in New Orleans,” but her rendition of “Silent Night” (also featuring her amazing husband Shawn Purcell on guitar) will be a sublime highlight of our shows this year.
In your opinion, which composer is the master of holiday music? Are they included in this year’s concert?
It would be a challenge to name a single composer as even the most impactful of this holiday music genre, in my opinion, partly due to the fact that there is perhaps more music written for this time of year than any other in history. Even within the classical tradition, several great composers were inspired by either the birth of Christ when considering Bach’s Passions and Handel’s Messiah, or simply the season itself, such as with the holiday favorite “The Nutcracker Suite” by Tchaikovsky, which elicits wonderful holiday memories for many concertgoers. A holiday concert doesn’t seem complete without Leroy Anderson’s classic medley of carols “A Christmas Festival,” and his enormously popular original “Sleigh Ride,” so our audience will never go home empty-handed there! I not only will include selections from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, but I typically also include Duke Ellington’s big band responses, which are always crowd-pleasers.
With the wide array of selections of music to choose from, across a variety of genres, how do you choose what makes the cut?
Naturally, with a Holiday Pops concert, there is an expectation from our audience to perform certain holiday favorites every year (such as “White Christmas,” “The Christmas Song,” and “Sleigh Ride”), but there truly are countless songs that celebrate this particular season, so I make an effort to mix things up from year to year. I feel it’s also important to find a balance between combining music of the classical tradition with that of the pops and movie realms, while including Christmas classics, songs of the winter season, and also a Hanukkah feature. Finally, with such unique talent in the AFPO, I always want to find ways to showcase our embedded big band, our wonderful winds, and the lush sounds of our string section with special new and legendary arrangements. All in all, it’s a labor of love crafting this puzzle and curating these programs each year.
Join us for this annual holiday tradition!