Maricopa Music Circle to play Christmas concert with taste of Star Wars

Sacred Christmas music, fun holiday standards and a cinematic surprise are all part of the annual Winter Serenade by the Maricopa Music Circle.

The concert is Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the Black Box Theater at Maricopa High School’s Performing Arts Center.

Highlights include Georges Bizet’s two L’Arlésienne Suites, the first performance of Gary Zaimont’s Swingle Bells, and selections from Handel’s Messiah featuring the Hallelujah Chorus.

Zaimont also provided arrangements of O Little Town of Bethlehem, White Christmas, Deck the Halls and Silent Night. There will also be selections from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite.

Maricopa Music Circle is a 15-piece, conductor-less ensemble.

“Some pieces feature a full symphonic sound, while others showcase smaller groups, like strings, woodwinds, brass or voice and run a full gamut of music type from traditional carols to jazz to full orchestral works,” said violist Laura Olivieri.

Playing the viola, which is usually a mid-range instrument, she said her favorite piece to play in the holiday concert is Gabriel Fauré’s Pavane. “It’s a very, very beautiful piece,” she said. “There are places where we get to play the melody of that piece, and there are times when we get to play the pizzicato background.”

In the middle of the concert is the debut of Olivieri’s arrangement Star Wars: The Medley Strikes Back.
[quote_right]Program:
Selections from the L’Arlésienne Suites I and II, by Georges Bizet
O Little Town of Bethlehem
White Christmas
Pavane, by Gabriel Fauré
Star Wars: The Medley Strikes Back
Selections from the Nutcracker Suite, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Swingle Bells
Deck the Halls
Silent Night
Selections from Messiah, by George Frideric Handel[/quote_right]
That saga began last year when one of the musicians brought a Star Wars piece to use as practice for the circle. Olivieri thought that was fine but was convinced she could create a better arrangement for John Williams’ work.

She worked on it for two months and brought it to Zaimont and his wife, award-winning composer Judith Lang Zaimont. While they enjoyed it, they were concerned about performing it in public because of copyright laws on Williams’ compositions.

Olivieri dropped it for about a month until she learned from UltraStar Multi-tainment Center management that a new installment of the Star Wars movie saga would be coming out in December. With expectation the theater would be able to handle the rights to the music, Olivieri picked up her arrangement again in March and worked on it through August.

Olivieri said the suite is her first attempt at arranging, and she leaned heavily on Gary Zaimont’s expertise. His arrangements have adapted compositions for the circle’s unique makeup of string ensemble, piano, horns and flute.

“I put the meat and potatoes on the plate and turned it over to Gary, and Mr. Zaimont put in a lot of the finesse into the arrangement that you’re going to hear,” she said. “It was certainly not a one-person effort.”

“This is a monumental accomplishment for someone who’d never before written for any kind of ensemble, and it deserves to be applauded on its own merits,” Judith Zaimont said. “The sound is full-bodied and very orchestral, and we think John Williams would be smiling from ear to ear.”

UltraStar was able to clear the rights to the music and will host the Maricopa Music Circle Dec. 18-19 to entertain movie-going fans in the lobby with the new Star Wars medley during the big opening weekend of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The Circle will play a continuing loop of the 25-minute set, which will also include other purchased arrangements of Star Wars music.

A Maricopa resident since 1998, Olivieri fell in with the Zaimonts soon after Judith and friends started the Maricopa Music Circle in 2010. Though Olivieri had not played with a group in 20 years, she was welcomed to the fold.

“I’m just grateful everyday for the support they give me, these marvelous musicians who live in Maricopa,” she said. “It’s just a beautiful thing.”

If You Go
What: 2015 Winter Serenade
Who: Maricopa Music Circle
When: Dec. 11, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Black Box Theater, Maricopa High School Performing Arts Center, 45012 W. Honeycutt Road
How Much: $15 adults; $12 students
Info: MaricopaMusicCircle.org, [email protected], 520-316-6268, facebook.com/maricopamusiccircle

Click here for tickets.

Click here for music sample.