On December 12-15, 20 and 21, The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Mendelssohn Choir preformed holiday songs at Heinz Hall to get people in the spirit of Christmas.
They performed different types of holiday songs, and they had singers Ricky Manning, who is also known as “The Singing Detective”, Vanessa Campagna, who was chosen to be on CBS’s Star Search when she was 10 years old and originally from Pittsburgh, Nikki Renee Daniels, who has appeared on Broadway and was in The Sound of Music live as a nun, and James Fedor, Jr., who is a member of the Children’s Festival Chorus.
“It’s amazing, I truly love being back,” said Ms. Campagna. She loves the feeling of being on stage and she loves having wonderful musicians behind her. “I love being home for the Holidays, and honestly the hometown crowds are a fun part of being home.”
They also had George Vosburhg, who is a celebrated soloist, as a trumpeter and a lecturer. As a lecturer, he has appeared at universities across Europe, Asia, and several different universities in the United States, such as Northwestern, Michigan, and UCLA. He is currently a faculty member at Duquesne and Carnegie Mellon university.
At the end of the performance they had a sing along with Ricky, Vanessa, Nikki, and James. They also invited members of the audience to stand and sing along with the Symphony. They sang “Joy to the World,” “Silent Night,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” and “Deck the Halls.”