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This week, hear Kitka Women’s Vocal Ensemble’s annual “Wintersongs” concert, catch the 2023 edition of Smuin’s “The Christmas Ballet,” discover the surprising stories behind popular holiday songs with Rob Kapilow’s “What Makes It Great?”, enjoy a “Grateful Holiday Celebration” at The Guild, listen to talented young musicians at Community School of Music and Arts’ Merit Scholars Concert and go from “Paris to Prague” with the Palo Alto Philharmonic.
Kitka’s ‘Wintersongs’
Kitka Women’s Vocal Ensemble has been dazzling Bay Area audiences for years now with their harmony-rich interpretations of traditional Eastern Europe and Eurasian vocal stylings and songs, as well as new material for female voices. Each year, they perform a “Wintersongs” concert featuring seasonally themed music from Eastern European traditions, from folk carols to Orthodox choral pieces. This year, the theme is “sustenance,” and explores “what sustains us in times of darkness, scarcity, uncertainty and hardship?” according to Kitka.
Dec. 10, 4 p.m., at St. Bede’s, 2650 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park. Tickets start at $25. eventbrite.com.
The Christmas Ballet
Though it’s become something of a tradition itself, Smuin Contemporary Ballet’s annual holiday show is anything but traditional. “The Christmas Ballet” brings together classical ballet and high-spirited contemporary pieces, set to a variety of holiday-themed music. In addition to the return of favorite works such as “Santa Baby” and “Christmas in New Orleans,” the 2023 edition features the world premieres of “Catalan Carol” by Smuin Associate Artistic Director Amy Seiwert and “Ring Ting Tingling” by former Smuin artist Nicole Haskins.
Dec. 7-8, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 9, 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 10, 2 p.m. at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. Tickets are $25-$109. smuinballet.org.
Rob Kapilow’s ‘What Makes It Great?’
You surely know the tunes, but how much do you know about the backstories behind yuletide classics such as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Silver Bells”? Conductor, composer and author Rob Kapilow brings another installment of his renowned ‘What Makes It Great?’ presentations (which were broadcast on National Public Radio for many years), this time with a holiday theme. Titled “Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas” and featuring The Choral Project, Kapilow explores well-known holiday songs and their Jewish composers. “The story of how this came to be is a remarkable tale of immigrant outsiders who wrote the soundtrack to America’s dreams,” according to Stanford Live’s event listing.
Dec. 9, 7:30 p.m., at Bing Concert Hall, 327 Lasuen St., Stanford. Tickets start at $32. live.stanford.edu.
The Terrapin Family Band
Attention Deadheads: The Terrapin Family Band, which was originally formed as part of Grateful Dead co-founder Phil Lesh’s weekly shows at Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, will perform a “Grateful Holiday Celebration” concert. According to the event poster, the line-up will feature Grahame Lesh, Ross James, Jason Crosby and Alex Koford, with Scott Law and Nicki Bluhm.
Dec. 10, 8 p.m., The Guild Theatre, 949 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Tickets start at $52. guildtheatre.com.
CSMA Holiday Concert
The Community School of Music and Arts audition-based Merit Scholars Program supports promising youth music students who have shown strong dedication to their musical studies, offering them additional performance and other opportunities. At their annual holiday concert, which is free for the community, members of the program (both ensembles and soloists) perform holiday favorites.
Dec. 9, 5 p.m., Tateuchi Hall, 230 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View. Free. arts4all.org.
Palo Alto Philharmonic
The orchestra takes audiences on an uplifting trip through Europe with “Paris to Prague,” a program featuring Stravinsky’s playful Suite No. 2 for Small Orchestra, Mozart’s spirited Symphony No. 38, K. 504 (“Prague”) and Jean Françaix’s 1968 Clarinet Concerto, with soloist Steve Sánchez. Sánchez is the second clarinet for the San Francisco Symphony and a frequent guest with the San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Ballet orchestras, according to the philharmonic’s website. But it’s not only Bay Area audiences who have heard his work in area concert halls; Sánchez also performs with the Skywalker Symphony, which produces scores for games such as World of Warcraft and Disney film and TV projects. He is a professor of clarinet at San Jose State University.
Dec. 9, 8 p.m. (pre-concert talk at 7:30 p.m.) at Cubberley Theatre, 4120 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Tickets are $10-$20. paphil.org.