On Saturday, December 14, 2024, with a bit of winter chill, the Holiday Concert, presented by the City of Weston, and the Weston Music Society, in cooperation with the Arts Council of Greater Weston, warmed up the venue with a wonderful performance by the South Florida Symphony Orchestra. Annalisa Walker, Special Events Manager for the City of Weston, noted, “This event has become an annual holiday favorite and we will look forward to continuing this tradition.”
According to City Manager Don Decker, an estimated crowd of nearly 1,000 were in attendance at the Town Center Park Amphitheater to hear rousing renditions of holiday favorites. Anneliese Wolfanger, soprano, was superb in her interpretation of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. Christopher Santiago, light baritone, crooned “Chestnuts Roasting by an Open Fire”. Neil Nelson, bass-baritone,
and principal singer for Florida Grand Opera, sang “Ave Maria” & did a comic take on “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”. He brought down the house. All three vocalists combined to deliver holiday favorites “All I Want for Christmas is You”, “Dreidel Song”, “Sleigh Ride” and “Feliz Navidad”.
Vice President of Events for the WMS Toby Feuer noted, “What a great evening for our community to hear this world-class music in such a beautiful setting.” Attendees agreed, sharing their enthusiasm for the event. We heard comments like “We hope you make this an annual event”, “Thanks for a great family show”, and “The singers were really good”!
Those who came early enjoyed having their picture taken with “Olaf” from the Disney classic movie “Frozen”. Everyone enjoyed the finale – the three vocalists doing a rousing sing-along of holiday favorites that got the audience on their feet, singing and clapping, and they remained standing for a heartfelt ovation for a great evening of music.
It sprinkled briefly during the performance, which sent the orchestra members scrambling for cover to protect their instruments but were able to resume playing within a few minutes. The heavens opened just as the concert ended, which sent everyone scrambling. They headed for their cars still humming and smiling and in great holiday spirit. WMS President Lou Marett said, “A key mission of the Weston Music Society is to bring fine music of all genres to our community. We did that tonight and hope to continue this kind of programming for many years to come.”
