Join the Austin Chamber Music Center for a live music performance featuring all of your favorite tunes from the holiday classic, and more! Bring your family to this Austin tradition and get in the holiday spirit!
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Program
Order to be announced from the stage
Christmas is Coming | Vince Guaraldi (1928–1976)
What Child is This? | Traditional/Vince Guaraldi
O Tannenbaum | Traditional/Vince Guaraldi
The Great Pumpkin Waltz | Vince Guaraldi
Heartburn Waltz | Vince Guaraldi
Thanksgiving Theme | Vince Guaraldi
My Little Drum | Traditional/Vince Guaraldi
Christmas Time is Here | Vince Guaraldi
Over the Rainbow | Harold Arlen (1905–1986) arr. Keith Jarrett
INTERMISSION
Linus and Lucy | Vince Guaraldi
Charlie Brown Theme | Vince Guaraldi
Peppermint Patty | Vince Guaraldi
Frieda (with the Naturally Curly Hair) | Vince Guaraldi
Finale from the Moonlight Sonata | Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Skating | Vince Guaraldi
Happiness Theme | Vince Guaraldi
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing | Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)
The Christmas Song | Mel Torme/Vince Guaraldi
Ross Margitza, piano
Utah Hamrick, bass
David Sierra, drums
Page Stephens, vocals
Sandy Yamamoto, violin
Run time: This concert is approximately 90 minutes, including one short intermission.
Ross Margitza
Dr. Ross Margitza is a distinguished pianist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and educator. He resides in Austin, TX where he serves as a Lecturer in Jazz Studies/Jazz Piano at the University of Texas at Austin. An award-winning pianist, Dr. Margitza clinched first place in the 2024 Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition and second place in the 2009 Phillips Jazz Piano Competition. He has performed alongside acclaimed musicians such as Russell Malone, Jon Faddis, Phil Woods, Patti Austin, Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson, Roy McCurdy, Antonio Hart, Lynn Roberts, and Christian McBride. His credits also include performances with the Gerald Wilson Orchestra, Detroit Jazz Orchestra, Glenn Miller Orchestra, and Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.
He holds a Bachelor of Music from Michigan State University, a Master of Music from Northern Illinois University, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Texas at Austin.
Utah Hamrick
Dr. Utah Hamrick is a jazz educator who holds a BME and MM in Performance from Central Michigan University and a DMA in Jazz Performance from the University of Texas. He is the Director of Jazz Studies at Texas State University, where he conducts the Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Lab Band, as well as teaching jazz bass, history, and pedagogy. Utah has been a freelance bassist in central Texas for the last 22 years, performing with a wide range of ensembles including numerous jazz groups and the Austin Symphony. For the last 15 years Utah has been performing with composer Graham Reynolds, and has also performed with Houston Person, Byron Stripling, Larry Ham, Bill Watrous, Tommy Igoe, and Willie Nelson.
David Sierra
David Sierra began his musical journey when he was introduced to the drum set at the age of seven. He attended the University of Texas at Austin where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Jazz Performance. He received the honorary Eleanor Alexander Stribling Award for Excellence in Jazz Studies upon his graduation and went on to tour with several bands, including the Bodeans. After several years performing professionally, David transitioned into a career in nursing. In 2021 he completed his Doctorate of Nursing Practice in Nurse Anesthesia and currently works as a CRNA for Capitol Anesthesiology Association/USAP in Austin, Texas. David continues to perform professionally and finds passion in music no matter the style, maintaining a high standard for excellence. He believes that making music is a gift that comes with the responsibility to share, inspire, heal, and bring joy to all people.
Page Stephens
Dr. Page Stephens is a mezzo soprano, voice teacher and arts administrator based in Austin, TX with a soft spot for new music. Stephens has premiered works by Reena Esmail, Matthew Lyons, Mark Kilstofte, Donald Grantham, Thomas B. Yee, Katherine Pukinskis, Dana Lyn, Russell Podgorsek, Mark Kilstofte, and many other composers. Stephens has performed as a soloist and sung roles with a wide range of ensembles, including Copland House in NYC, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, Voices of Change, Austin Symphony Orchestra, line upon line percussion, Sō Percussion, Texas Early Music Project, and with many others in the Austin area. She is a founding member of VAMP, an all-female vocal quintet which champions music about women and written by women. Stephens is on the voice faculty at Austin Community College and maintains a busy private studio. She also serves as the Assistant Director for Operations at the Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin.
Sandy Yamamoto
Violinist Sandy Yamamoto has dazzled audiences in concert performances around the globe for the past three decades as a soloist and as a member of the Miró Quartet. As a member of the Quartet, she was a recipient of the Naumburg Chamber Music and Cleveland Quartet Awards, won First Prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition, and was one of the first chamber musicians to be awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant. She is the Associate Professor of Practice in Violin Performance at the Butler School of Music at UT-Austin and was the recipient of the 2016 Butler School of Music Teaching Excellence Award. In the summers, she teaches at the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Vermont. This season, Ms. Yamamoto is serving as co-concertmaster of the San Antonio Philharmonic at the invitation of their new Musical Director, Jeffrey Kahane.