By Mark Caracciolo
On Sunday, December 7, at 3:00 PM at O’Shea Hall, Our Lady of Lourdes Church, the Florida Intergenerational Orchestra will perform 17 classic holiday songs.
“We got our start originally looking into the community, and there was a need for this kind of orchestra. The Century Village Orchestra went out of business. They went under, and so there were musicians in the community looking for opportunities to play, you know, amateur musicians [or] some professional musicians. So I saw a need in the community,” said Conductor Lorraine Marks-Field.
The Florida Intergenerational Orchestra, or the FIO, is an orchestra comprised of members aged 8 to 96. The orchestra is in its twentieth season: twenty years of performing live around the Palm Beach area.
As you walk into the performance hall, you may also notice a toy drive sponsored by the Rotary Club of Boca Raton. Please bring an unwrapped toy for less fortunate children.
The band is planning to perform 17 pieces, first opening with the National Anthem, then followed by The Syncopated Clock by Leroy Anderson, It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Chanukah Oh Chanukah, the Christmas Waltz, Let There Be Peace On Earth, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, Jingle Bells, and Slay Ride. Then there will be an intermission, where cake will be served because it is the FIO’s 20th season of playing, as well as an appearance from Santa Claus, whom everyone is invited to take pictures with. After the break, they will play Silent Night (with Peter Galman reciting the Twas The Night Before Christmas Poem), Around the World at Christmastime, Waves of the Danube, White Christmas, Christmas Sing Along, and then Radetzky March.
The address of the performance will be at O’Shea Hall, Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 22094 Lyons Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33428. Tickets are available at the door, online at www.flioa.org, or by calling 561-922-3134. Ticket pricing is $20 for people ages twelve and up, and $40 for seating in the first three rows.
