The Christmas Brass Quintet blows new life into the holiday classics at its performance this Saturday. The five Santa-hatted players, all members of the Cleveland Orchestra, will play such standards as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “White Christmas,” and “The 12 Days of Christmas” — which gets a particularly unique interpretation. “They end up playing a lot of funny notes and playing very fast,” says Joan Katz Napoli, the orchestra’s director of education.
“Jingle Bells,” in the hands of the quintet, becomes an audience-participation affair, with kids keeping the beat with their parents’ car keys. The Christmas Brass Quintet (part of the orchestra’s Musical Rainbow series) plays at 11 a.m. at Severance Hall’s Reinberger Chamber Hall, 11001 Euclid Avenue. Tickets are $6. Call 216-231-1111 for more information. — Cris Glaser
Up on the Wooftop
SAT 12/20
Good Boy! — the talking-dog movie showing at Saturday’s Holiday Program — may inspire little ones to get a cute little pooch of their own. Good thing Santa’s on hand to take requests. It all starts at noon at the Lorain Palace Civic Center, 617 Broadway in Lorain. Admission is $2. Call 440-245-2323 for more info. — Michael Gallucci
Santa Rocks
SAT 12/20
Saturday’s Breakfast With Santa at the Hard Rock Café (230 West Huron Road) doesn’t include tequila shots with Sammy Hagar. However, Mr. Claus does hand out goody bags and poses for pics. The hash starts slinging at 9:30 a.m.; admission is $10 (kids under 2 get in free). Call 216-344-3859 for reservations. — Michael Gallucci
This article appears in Dec 17-23, 2003.