Holiday Concert

Saturday, December 12 at 3:00 PM, Clemens Center, Elmira

Celebrate the season with an afternoon of beloved traditions, beautiful voices, and plenty of opportunities to join in the music yourself. The Orchestra and Chorus of the Southern Finger Lakes come together for a holiday concert designed to feel less like a performance you simply watch and more like a celebration we create together.

The program brings together sacred favorites and timeless holiday music, from the warmth of O Tannenbaum to three cherished works by John Rutter — Angel Carol, What Sweeter Music and Jesus Child. You will hear two beautiful and distinctly different settings of Ave Maria, by Bach/Gounod and Schubert, before orchestra and chorus join forces for one of the most exhilarating moments in holiday music: Handel's triumphant Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah.

Discover something new with a world premiere of a new work by Avner Finberg, and let the orchestra sweep you into the magical world of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker with the elegant Pas de deux and dazzling Waltz of the Flowers.

After intermission, it's your turn to join in. Two Christmas Pops Sing-Alongs fill the hall with favorites including Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, Rudolph, White Christmas, Winter Wonderland, Let It Snow, Jingle Bell Rock and The Christmas Song. Along the way, enjoy the serene beauty of Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on Greensleeves and the traditional All Through the Night before raising your voice once more for a Christmas carol sing-along.

And no OSFL holiday celebration would be complete without one final tradition: Anderson's unmistakable Sleigh Ride.

Whether these songs have been part of your holidays for decades or you're experiencing them with us for the first time, come ready to listen, sing, celebrate, and share in the joy of making music together.

Fun for the whole family, kids under 18 are free with an adult ticket purchase.

2026-2027 ORCHESTRA SERIES

Sat, December 12
3:00 PM
Clemens Center

207 Clemens Center Pkwy, Elmira, NY 14901

Adults: $29-$59*
Students: $15* (ID required)
Under 18: FREE (with adult ticket purchase)

Individual tickets on sale beginning late September. Secure your seat today by subscribing to the full season!

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*Additional fees apply.
Program subject to change.

Meet the Composer in Attendance

Avner Finberg, Composer
Avner Finberg is an Israeli American composer and violinist. He performed with the Israeli Philharmonic, The Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Tel-Aviv Soloists, and the Ithaca New Music Collective, as well as performing numerous chamber music and solo recitals nationally and internationally. His first original solo album, The Four Seasons of Isolation (2022), was released with Ravello Records and hailed as “intriguing, entertaining and thought-provoking” by Gramophone Magazine. He currently lives in metro Washington, DC, where he teaches violin, Suzuki violin, and composition at the Levine School of Music.

Finberg holds dual bachelor of music degrees in violin and composition from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where he also completed a master of music in violin. He went on to earn a master of music in composition from Mannes College and a doctor of musical arts in composition from the Manhattan School of Music.
His compositions have been performed by Meitar Ensemble, ensemble mise-en, The Boston New Music Initiative, Ensemble Platypus Wien, and The Mannes Orchestra, among others. He was a composition fellow at American Opera Project’s Composers and the Voice workshop in 2013-14, and his second opera, The Exagoge, received its premiere run at La Mama Experimental Theatre in New York in April-May 2024.

Concert Repertoire

Welcome

O Tannenbaum arranged by Carmen Dragon
World Premiere by Avner Finberg
Angel Carol by John Rutter with the Chorus of the Southern Finger Lakes
What Sweeter Music by John Rutter with the Chorus of the Southern Finger Lakes
Jesus Child by John Rutter with the Chorus of the Southern Finger Lakes
Ave Maria by Bach/Gounod, arranged by Carmen Dragon
Ave Maria by Franz Schubert
Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah by G.F. Handel with the Chorus of the Southern Finger Lakes
Selections from The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- Pas de deux
- Waltz of the Flowers

Intermission

Christmas Pops Sing-Along No. 1 arranged by Lee Norris
- Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- Silver Bells
- White Christmas
- It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
- Winter Wonderland
- Frosty the Snowman
Fantasia on Greensleeves by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Christmas Pops Sing-Along No. 2 arranged by Lee Norris
- Let It Snow
- Jingle Bell Rock
- I'll Be Home for Christmas
- All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth
- The Christmas Song
All Through the Night arranged by Carmen Dragon
Christmas Carol Sing-Along arranged by Finnigan
Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson

Know Before You Go

Clemens Center
207 Clemens Center Pkwy, Elmira, NY 14901

For specific information on parking and how to get there, visit the Clemens Center website.

You'll receive an email before the performance with everything you need to know, and any special announcements about the show. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions:

No, tickets are not refundable. However, they are transferrable! Pass your tickets along to a friend if you can't make it to the show.
Yes, tickets are transferrable. Pass your tickets along to a friend if you can't make it to the show.
Definitely not! While some of our patrons enjoy dressing up for a night out at the orchestra, it's certainly not a requirement and there is no dress code for any of our performances.
Run time for the concert is approximately 110 minutes and includes a 15 minute intermission.

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