Catch the holiday spirit at special performances

If you haven’t had your fill of Christmas music yet, numerous concerts throughout the county are planned. Some are free or don’t cost much.

A few of those events, in calendar order, are:

Concert pianist Sam Rotman will perform a holiday concert at 7 p.m. Dec. 18 at Byrnes Performing Arts Center at Arlington High School. The concert is offered free by Calvary Arlington. Rotman figures he has played nearly 3,000 concerts in 60 countries. A graduate of Juilliard School in New York City, Rotman was the laureate winner of the fourth International Beethoven Competition in Vienna, Austria. He also participated in the sixth International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, Russia. He has devoted much of his musical life to the study and performance of the works of Beethoven. Beginning with a series of all Beethoven concerts in 1970 (the Beethoven bi-centennial), he also performed for a PBS special on the composter. Rotman continues to perform the works of Beethoven in recital and with orchestra. His most recent recording is “The Piano Music of Beethoven.”

“Swing into Christmas” with the 20-piece Moonlight Swing Orchestra playing big band music at 1 p.m. Dec. 19 at the East County Senior Center, 276 Sky River Parkway, Monroe. Tickets are $9 at the door. To reserve your seat, call 360-794-6359.

Seattle Men’s Chorus is “Home for the Holidays” and it’s director Dennis Coleman’s final holiday concert. Retiring after 35 years at the podium, Coleman is pulling out all his “naughty and nice” song favorites, including the chorus’s special versions of “Ave Maria” and “Silent Night,” as well as some new tunes such as “Text Me Merry Christmas.” The chorus sings at 8 p.m. Dec. 19 at Everett Civic Auditorium, 2415 Colby Ave. Ticket prices range from $25 to $45. Call 206-388-1400.

“A Celtic Christmas” concert by The Beggar Boys and Abigail Lennox will include music from Ireland, Wales and Scotland. The performance begins at 3 p.m. Dec. 19 at Edmonds United Methodist Church, 828 Caspers St., Edmonds. Tickets are $20 general, $15 seniors, free for children. Advance purchase recommended at www.edmondsumc.org/web­store. The Beggar Boys were founded in Boston in 2001 and have performed across the country. Lennox sings lead vocals and plays the bodhran drum, Henry Lebedinsky of Edmonds is on guitar and bouzouki, Larry Young plays fiddle and sings and Michael Albert plays fiddle, Irish flute and sings. The band was featured on a recent National Public Radio special “A Carolina Christmas” from the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.

Handel’s “Messiah” will be performed by Orchestra Seattle and the Seattle Chamber Singers at 3 p.m. Dec. 20, First Presbyterian Church, 2936 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. Under the direction of Clinton Smith, the soloists are Amanda Opuszynski, Sarah Larsen, Brad Benoit and Jeffrey Beruan. Tickets are $25 general admission at brownpapertickets.com.

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” will be back in Snohomish when the Jose “Juicy” Gonzales Trio plays Vince Guaraldi’s classic tunes at 4 p.m. Dec. 20 at the Tim Noah Thumbnail Theater, 1211 Fourth St. Tickets are $20 or $15 for seniors. Gonzales guides the audience through the story of the making of the TV special and how Guaraldi’s music gave exactly the right feeling, even though producers wanted to cut it. On piano, Gonzales is joined by bassist Michael Marcus and drummer Matt Jorgensen.

The Journeys’ Christmas Concert” featuring Bronn Journey on harp and soprano Katherine Journey will be performed at 2 and again at 7 p.m. Dec. 20 at Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave. For tickets, call 425-257-8600. For 34 years, the harpist has been bringing Christmas concerts to communities throughout the state. Everett is still his favorite place to play, Journey said.

Classical flutist Jeffrey Cohan will perform a program called “Jazzin’ with the Classics for Christmas” at 7 p.m. Dec. 21 at the Floyd Norgaard Cultural Center, 27130 102nd Ave. NW, in Stanwood. Cohan will be joined by soprano Linda Tsatsanis, pianist and woodwinds player Martin Lund and Tom Collier on vibraphone. The Stanwood Area Historical Society and Concerts at the Floyd offer this 10th annual chamber concert for a suggested donation is $15, but students are free. For more information, call 360-629-6110 or visit www.sahs-fncc.org. Tsatsanis, Lund, Cohan and Collier will team up to bridge contemporary improvisational jazz and the “art music” of baroque and renaissance times.

“One More Christmas With You,” a concert presented by the DeMiero Jazz Festival, is set for 7:30 p.m. Dec. 22 at the Wade James Theater, 950 Main St., Edmonds. A fundraiser for the festival, the concert includes the Seattle Jazz Singers and its combo as well as musical guests. Admission is $20 general admission, $10 for children. For tickets, go to www.demierojazzfest.org.

St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church sponsors its 8th annual community Messiah Sing Along at 7 p.m. Dec. 29 at the church, 1318 Highway 532, Camano Island. Directed by Steven Jensen and accompanied by the Overman Family Orchestra, the concert is a sing-along open to all. No charge to participate, but an offering will be taken. Reception to follow.

And in Seattle, see:

Seattle Symphony presents Handel’s “Messiah” Dec. 18 through 20 with conductor and tenor Paul Agnew leading the orchestra and the Seattle Symphony Chorale, featuring soprano Anna Devin, countertenor Benno Schachtner, and baritone Matthew Burns. A Festival of Lessons &Carols follows Dec. 22 featuring the Northwest Boychoir, Vocalpoint! Seattle and members of the Northwest Sinfonia, led by conductor Joseph Crnko. Performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony are Dec. 30 through Jan. 3, including the New Year’s Eve concert. Ticket information is available at www.seattlesymphony.org.

— Gale Fiege, Herald Writer