Attendees packed the pews of Fairview United Church for the Brantford Community Symphony Orchestra’s event titled, “In concert with Fairview Chorus and Friends” on Sunday, November 30, 2025.
Kicking off with the playing of O Canada, the sound of the orchestra filled the church as spectators settled in for the afternoon.
Master of ceremonies Margaret McSavage, after welcoming the attendees, introduced the band and their conductor before continuing with the show.
“If you’ve attended any of our previous performances, you will know that the orchestra was formed in 2012 under the late Karl Langton and since its inception, the orchestra has been under the direction of our wonderful Deb McLoughlin,” said McSavage. “…The orchestra is now going to start us off this afternoon with three beautiful selections including In the Beak Midwinter, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and O Come, All Ye Faithful. This is the Christmas Overture arranged by Paul Nicholson.”
The orchestra then went on to play Walter Murphy’s Fifth of Beethoven, an upbeat adaptation of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 that was arranged by Matt Smith.
McSavage soon returned to the stage to introduce Paul O’Neill and Robert Kinkel’s Christmas Eve/Sarajevo.
“This is a beautiful medley of God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman and Carol of the Bells,” she said. “The piece is centered on the true story of a cellist who played classical music and later Christmas carols, even as bombs fell around him in war torn Sarajevo during the Bosnian war. This piece was most famously performed by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and has become a very moving Christmas favourite.”
Haydn Evans, the conductor for Fairview Chorus, later took the stage to introduce the choir and perform three of their own songs.
“I’d like to welcome you all here to Fairview United, the choir here is Fairview Chorus, and we also have members of St. Andrews United Church, which is on the other side of town, as well as members of the choir from Holy Cross Parish in Georgetown who traveled far to be here,” said Evans. “We have three pieces that we’re going to do this afternoon; one is called Celtic Christmas Lullaby, O Little Town of Bethlehem and Unto Us a Child is Born.”
Afterwards, the Brantford Community Symphony Orchestra returned for two other songs, Leroy Anderson’s Buglers’ Holiday, and Stille Nacht, arranged by Chip Davis and Calvin Custer.
The orchestra then teamed up with the Fairview Chorus and Friends for Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride and invited the audience to sing along to some classic Christmas carols to end off the program including Joy to the World, O Little Town of Bethlem, Angels We Have Heard on High, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
After the performance, Alison Gothard-Huang, who traveled from Kitchener to see the performance and watch her friend sing in the choir, said she was impressed with the concert.
“It was fun, and both the choir and the orchestra were great. Sleigh Ride, of course, is always a favourite, but I actually really liked the Buglers’ Holiday too… I’d never heard that one and it sort of gave me that vibe of an Oktoberfest Christmas,” she said, with a laugh. “But I love live music, and when I have the money to buy tickets to shows, then I do, but things are difficult, and so I especially like the idea that they have a concert with a free-will offering so everyone can access that. Especially since the pandemic when everybody had those lonely years stuck inside, I think it’s really important that we get out and do these community things where we gather and appreciate what we have.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
