LOCAL

Topeka Symphony Orchestra to perform score to ‘The Snowman’ at annual holiday concert

Savanna Maue

On Wednesday, the Topeka Symphony Orchestra will perform a recital unlike any other offerings from 2017.

Performing the score for the animated short film, “The Snowman,” The Capitol Federal Topeka Symphony Holiday Concert offers festive favorites to encourage attendance for those who might find some of the symphony’s more classical pieces intimidating.

“I’m so excited about our holiday concert this year,” said Kyle Wiley Pickett, music director and conductor for the Topeka Symphony. “ ‘The Snowman’ is based on the popular children’s book by Raymond Briggs, and it’s a delightful animated film that was nominated for an Academy Award in 1982.”

Joining TSO are students from the Topeka Symphony Youth Orchestra for a side-by-side performance of Leroy Anderson’s popular holiday piece, “A Christmas Festival.”

The concert will be at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13 in White Concert Hall on the Washburn University campus.

“We’re thrilled to be joined by members of the Topeka Symphony Youth Orchestra,” Pickett said. “This is the 60th season for the youth orchestra, so we wanted to mark the occasion by highlighting their talents alongside those of the TSO musicians for this special concert. It truly will be a family-friendly concert celebrating the season, plus we’ll conclude the evening with a sing-a-long so the audience will be sure to get in the holiday spirit.”

Immediately following the concert, the audience is invited to greet Pickett and the musicians at a reception hosted by Capitol Federal in the Bradbury Thompson Alumni Center.

This concert is one of the “Reformation” series that TSO began in September. The theme, which includes performances titled “Romantic Revolution,” “After the Revolution” and “Broadway Revolution” has to do with the 500 year anniversary of Martin Luther’s “reformation,” which Pickett said had an enormous impact on the whole arts culture.

On Oct. 31, 1517, Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenburg, Germany, and in so doing, set into motion the beginning of one of the most significant upheavals in Western religious history. Commemorating that anniversary, the TSO opened its 2017 - 18 season by playing Mendelssohn’s “Reformation” symphony, with its meditation on the Lutheran hymn “A Mighty Fortress.”

Ticket prices range from $31 to $36, with full-time students at half price. Tickets can be purchased online at topekasymphony.org or by calling the symphony office at (785) 232-2032. Season passes are available, with discounts offered for various bundling options.

Contact reporter Savanna Maue at (785) 295-5621 or

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