Bring the whole family to Jingle Bell JAM!, a lively holiday concert where the audience becomes part of the show! Created especially for families, the approximately 70-minute program is bright, welcoming, and full of discovery. Conductor and musical director Aaron Kaplan and the JAM Orchestra present an afternoon of beloved seasonal favorites, playful musical surprises, and joyful sing-alongs at Ravinia, reteaming with the Lark Creative Group after this summer’s fantastical Dr. Seuss Goes to the Opera. Opera legend Nathan Gunn, Jeff Award winner Aurora Penepacker, and the Metropolis School of the Performing Arts Children’s Choir add their glittering voices to this wondrous holiday special.
The JAM Orchestra is a unique ensemble that performs symphonic music ranging from classical and swing music to Broadway and film scores. Program themes are curated so that each concert provides a balance of familiar and unfamiliar music, different musical styles, and collaboration with different Chicago artists. Previous programs include opera and Broadway music with baritone Nathan Gunn, jazzy Frank Sinatra and Nelson Riddle classics, the ballets of Aaron Copland and Rodion Shchedrin, Stephen Sondheim and Alan Menken show tunes, and musical-theater-in-concert productions, as well as collaborations with Imprint Choir, Youth Choral Theater of Chicago, and Metropolis Performing Arts Centre.
