ACO Holiday Concert Will Open

Holiday Series At Playhouse On The Green

BRIDGEPORT — American Chamber Orchestra will present a holiday concert at Playhouse on the Green on Saturday, December 11, at 8 pm, as part of the 2004 Playhouse Holiday Festival, a series of December events.

The program includes Duo Concerto for Trumpets in C by Antonio Vivaldi, Duo Concerto for Flutes in G by Domenico Cimarosa, Canon by Johann Pachelbel, and Symphony #104 – London by Joseph Haydn.

Soprano soloist Stephanie Gregory will sing Exsultate, Jubilate by W.A. Mozart and “Rejoice Greatly” and “Come Unto Him” from Handel’s Messiah.

Ms Gregory has performed numerous operatic roles throughout her professional career and was the winner of the 2001 Jenny Lind competition.

American Chamber Orchestra, a 45-member ensemble based in Fairfield, plays high baroque, classical and early romantic music, with selected modern works. Music director, conductor and co-founder of the orchestra is Christopher James Hisey, who teaches in the strings faculty of Greens Farms Academy and Westport School of Music. He also conducts the Civic Orchestra of New Haven, and has conducted throughout the U.S. and in Europe.

The performance will include a pre-concert talk at 7 pm with Maestro Hisey.

Tickets, which cover the concert and the pre-concert lecture, are $20.

The Playhouse Holiday Festival also includes “The Boys of Summer Celebrate Christmas” on Sunday, December 12, at 2 pm.  Bridgeport Bluefish baseball players will meet fans of all ages and share some of their favorite baseball stories.

Tickets are $12, and participants are asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy to be given to children in need.

Comedy Night on Friday, December 17, at 8 pm, will include stand-up comedy with Jim Dailakis, king of celebrity impressions; famous joke-man Phil Selman; and Eddie Clark, who has performed on stage, radio and television for more than 20 years.

Tickets are $20.

Finally, a “Holiday Sing-Along” on Sunday, December 19, beginning at 4 pm, will celebrate the holidays in style with The Wayne Hiller Octet.  Lead singer Susan Rosenberg will lead the singing of traditional Christmas favorites including “Jingle Bells,” “Frosty the Snow Man” and “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.”

Tickets are $20.

Playhouse on the Green is at 177 State Street in Bridgeport. Free, attended parking is nearby. For information and directions, visit www.PlayhouseOnTheGreen.org or call 203-696-0031. Tickets may be purchased online or by calling the Bridgeport Bluefish box office at 203-345-4800, extension 150.