ORILLIA SILVER BAND FEATURES TOP CORNETIST OF EUROPEAN CHAMPION BAND SUNDAY AT 2 P.M.

ORILLIA — Band lovers are in for a real treat Sunday.

With several excellent concert and brass bands in the region, particularly the Orillia Silver Band, which have featured many fine soloists, one of the more distinguished performers takes the stage at the Orillia Opera House.

By special arrangement, the Silver Band will host the world-renowned cornet soloist Tom Hutchinson at 2 p.m.

Hutchinson is the principal cornetist of the European champion Cory Band based in Wales.

The Silver Band is thrilled to be able to bring a soloist of Hutchinson’s stature to the Simcoe city, especially in time for the 2022 holiday season.

Hutchinson will perform several outstanding selections with the band.

The Orillia band celebrates the holiday season with its traditional Sleighbells and Brass Christmas Concert Dec. 18 at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $10 for students/children and are available from the Orillia Opera House Box Office.

Neil Barlow, the band’s music director and conductor — and also an outstanding cornetist himself — has made sure that there is plenty of traditional holiday music on offer.

Among the program’s fine performances are Gustav Holst’s Christmas Day, Kevin Norbury’s exciting Gaudete!, and a wonderful setting of Joy to the World by William Himes. Also included is a set of dances from the beautiful Nutcracker Ballet by Tchaikovsky.

In the spirit of the season, in addition to the exciting offerings described above, the band will present the beloved holiday medley A Christmas Festival by Leroy Anderson.

And it wouldn’t be a Silver Band Christmas concert without an audience-request sing-a-long.

So come prepared to exercise the vocal chords with your favourite Christmas carols.

Virtuoso Tom Hutchinson, the principal cornetist of the European champion Cory Band based in Wales, joins the Silver Band for several selections as a Christmas treat this year.
The Orillia Silver Band, outstanding on its own, presents its annual holiday season performance, a traditional Sleighbells and Brass Christmas Concert, this Sunday Dec. 18 at 2 p.m.
Brass bands are serious business in the United Kingdom and across Europe where Hutchinson has led his Cory band to multiple championships including personal recognition for his cornet playing for more than a decade.