Well, it’s not quite like Nixon in China since I’m not actually going to be there. However, I do have a piece being performed on tour in China by the Athens Philharmonia, which is quite an honor. My piece, A Christmas Celebration, was selected by artistic director and conductor Yannis Hadjiloizou to be included in the orchestra’s programming for the tour. The tour is a 20-day ordeal beginning on December 23rd and concluding on January 9th, which will peak with two holiday concerts in Beijing and Shanghai.

A Christmas Celebration was written as two separate pieces for band during my tenure as a band director in South Carolina between 1984-87. It was premiered during that time as Hurry, Hurry, Snowy Flurry and Christmas Is Here Again by the Berkeley High School Band and Chorus. In 2010 I combined the two short pieces into one piece, and dropping the choral parts, in the form of a fanfare and chorale with a fanfare reprisal and tag ending. The work was recorded in 2015 by the Moravian Philarhonia in Ouloumec, Czech Republic by PARMA Recordings and released in 2016 on their Novana label (https://naxosdirect.com/items/dashing-sounds-of-the-season-367033).

Following are the dates and locations of the Athens Philharmonia tour:

December 2019 – A Christmas Celebration for orchestra, performed by the Athens Philharmonia Orchestra on tour to China:

        Dec 24 - Dalian People's Club Theater, Dalian, Liaoning, China

        Dec 25 - Mudanjiang Grand Theater, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, China

        Dec 27 - Yingkou Art Center, Yingkou, Liaoning, China

        Dec 28 - Jinzhou Theater, Jinzhou, China

        Dec 30 - Dalian Development Area Grand Theater, Dalian, Liaoning, China

January 2020 – A Christmas Celebration for orchestra, performed by the Athens Philharmonia Orchestra on tour to China, continued:

        Jan 2 - Liuzhou Art Center, Liuzhou, China

        Jan 3 - Jiangxi Art Center, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China

        Jan 4 - Handan Grand Theater, Handan, Hebei, China

        Jan 5 - Hebei Art Center, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China

More information on the Athens Philharmonia may be found by visiting their webpage here: https://www.facebook.com/ath.philharmonia/

To hear the Moravian Philharmonia’s recording of A Christmas Celebration, please visit my webpage here: https://www.timothymillermusic.com/works/wind-ensemble-music.html

Submitted by Timothy Miller, composer, editor of In The Loop