Hoping your Christmas (if you celebrate) was a happy one!Today in Britain (as well as in Canada, and several other countries) is what is commonly know as BOXING day, which is the first weekday after Christmas, usually December 26. It coincides with the Feast of St. Stephen. The tradition has it that the upper class brought boxes of food to their "Lower class" servants the day after Christmas, although there are various other versions and interpretations of what is done....see alternative explanations for the origins and history of this interesting holiday, HERE and HERE and HERE!
Stuck on what to do for Boxing Day? Click HERE!
ALL I know is, it's a GREAT day for taking a walk in the woods after Christmas when you live in the UK, to walk off all that Christmas pudding!
Here at MENC, the week between Christmas and New Year is usually pretty quiet, with a lot of staff taking well-earned leave time. Some stalwarts are still here, though, manning the phones and taking care of business as usual.
In my case, I'll be trying to finally unpack the boxes from my office move a few weeks back, so as to TRY to start the new year in a more "finished" mode, and getting into the meat of helping about 4 graduate students who all recently have been in touch about sending a survey on their thesis topic to MENC members....(more about that NEXT week!)
For now, a short and sweet send off to 2007, below!
A highlight of the holiday season, for me (courtesy of the Public Television) is the annual broadcast of the New Years Day Concert from the Vienna - check your local PBS tv listings for when it'll be on in your area! And see descriptions of some other great new years music shows on December 31 and January 1!Great Performances: From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2008 Great Performances visits to Vienna's Musikverein for its 24th annual New Year's Day celebration with the Vienna Philharmonic. Georges Prêtre leads the world-renowned orchestra in a selection of Strauss family waltzes. Also featured are festive ballets danced by the Vienna State Opera Ballet. Walter Cronkite hosts
It is such a pleasure to listen to the beautiful Strauss Waltzes and see the dancing!
See this LINK for the History of the Vienna Phil, and THIS for SOME VERY INTERESTING NOTES On the use of different "Vienna model" instruments the Vienna Phil uses, vs. the standard versions used by most orchestras!Also, Live from Lincoln Center: New York Philharmonic New Year's Eve: Joshua Bell Romantic Violin December 31 and January 1
New York Philharmonic music director Lorin Maazel conducts a program of romantic violin showpieces featuring Joshua Bell. The New Year’s Eve gala concert includes several arrangements for violin and orchestra: Kreisler’s Liebesleid and Liebesfreud, Ravel’s Tzigane, Schubert’s Ave Maria, and more.
AND
ELLA! A TRIBUTE TO THE FIRST LADY OF SONG
Dubbed "the First Lady of Song," Ella Fitzgerald consistently ranked among the most popular female jazz singers in the United States for more than half a century. An all-star tribute to Fitzgerald's enduring legacy in American song. Monday, December 31 at 10:00 pm (ET) on PBS
HAPPY 2008 Everyone!
See you next week! SR
