Are You Stealing Your Own Christmas?

“The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.” If only that was all there was to it! The Denver Brass Christmas concert, “How the Brass Saved Christmas,” reminds us all that the best time during the holiday season should be reserved for your family traditions and spiritual celebration. The concerts at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts on December 20, at 7:30 p.m. and December 21, at 2:30 p.m. will be all about tradition and the real meaning of Christmas.

There are undoubtedly some who have it all together during this time of the year but let’s face it, most of us go through all the same tensions year after year that this holiday season brings upon us: holiday traffic; purchasing gifts for grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, BFFs, work place buds etc.; cleaning the house; bathing the dog; planning all the special meals; planning parties and then going to the parties. Then there are the never ending decorations, trees, lights on the rooftop and in the front yard and don’t forget the silly over-the-top sweaters. The shopping never ends, the malls, the lines, finding a parking spot – geez, I’m tired just thinking about this thing we call Christmas.

I once ran into a mature couple that I knew in a shopping mall a few days before Christmas and noticed they were calm, composed and without any shopping bags. They were listening to a children’s choir singing carols in the mall with delight. They looked so out of place with their smiles and relaxed demeanor that I had to ask, “What is your secret?” They responded that they vowed to have all of the hectic things finished completely by December 10th each year so that the final two weeks before Christmas were theirs to enjoy. There was time for a Nutcracker, a Messiah or two, a children’s choir at the mall, play time with the children and grandchildren and, of course their favorite, the Denver Brass Christmas Concert. 

I keep telling myself year after year that I will try to discipline myself so I could enjoy those last two weeks, but each year I fail. Maybe this will finally be the year I get it and finally will save time for the true meaning of this wondrous holiday – a holiday that celebrates the birth of a child – a child that changed the world forever.

So just how does the Denver Brass save Christmas? With help of the ever popular Legacy Quartet and host Rick Crandall, the Denver Brass once again brings back tradition and family in this feel good concert about virtue and divine celebration. Nothing says “Merry Christmas!” like the sonority of brass played at the professional level like the Denver Brass displays so often throughout the year. The Denver Brass brings back the Legacy male vocal quartet to this annual concert after an amazing audience response to their guest performance last year.

This year’s version of the popular Christmas concert will feature such favorites as White Christmas, Christmas Song, Silver Bells, Joy to the World an arrangement of the Mannheim Steamroller’s, Silent Night, a Colorado Christmas and Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming. As usual, there will be ample opportunity for the audience to join the brass in carol singing. So, how about it? Is this the year you save time for the real meaning of Christmas? Let the Denver Brass help. Enjoy the Denver Brass on December 20-21, guilt free!