Event Details BACK

5^th Annual HOLIDAY YOUTH MUSIC FESTIVAL

Firehouse Arts Center Youth Chorus plus High School Music Collaborative

Pleasanton, Calif.  The City of Pleasanton and the Firehouse Arts Center host the 5th Annual Holiday Youth Music Festival on Saturday, November 25, at 6:00 p.m.  All cities in the Tri-Valley are represented, and performers range from elementary through high school.

Full of Holiday themed songs, some traditional, some with pop variations, this year’s Holiday YMF not only includes bands and solos, but also the 2nd annual performance by the Firehouse Arts Center Youth Chorus, notes festival Assistant Director Jeff Zavattero. Teens from the High School Music Collaborative have acted as music mentors to the youth chorus and will be performing numbers in addition to the chorus selections.

General admission tickets: $5 students, $10 adults for Firehouse shows. Purchase at the door, online at www.firehousearts.org, or by calling 925-931-4848. Also available in person at the Box Office, 4444 Railroad Avenue, Pleasanton. 

The production team for this prep-intensive annual event is helmed by seasoned youth programs director Mark Duncanson, himself an experienced actor and musician who also runs the award-winning teen improv troupe Creatures of Impulse. Under his guiding hand, the YMF is reshaped into a program that now focuses on collaboration among staff and youth musicians.

Joining Duncanson on the production team are Zavattero and Music Director Andrew Mondello. 

Civic Arts Senior Recreation Leader Jeff Zavattero works with Mark Duncanson to oversee and administer youth performing arts programming throughout the season. “Jeff’s experience as an actor, youth worker, and theater director for youth has been a great benefit to the Youth Music Festivals, especially when it comes to staging, rehearsals, and the shape of show,” adds Duncanson.

“Mondello continues to be instrumental (pun intended) in making this happen this year,” continues Mark. “In addition to expanding past Summer Drama Camps, Andrew has gotten several new performing arts programs off the ground for the City of Pleasanton, namely Music Theater Vocal Coaching, Chorus for Elementary and Middle School Age Youth, and a theater class called Theatrical Clowning.” With a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Theater from UC Irvine, Andrew is also a graduate of Amador Valley High School.

Kick off the holidays with a high energy, fun-filled show.  Plus Director Duncanson nails it: “I think it is important to support youth in the arts whenever you can. This is where creativity and energy around the arts starts; if we can rally to support youth in this, we are building a solid foundation for them.”

The Firehouse Arts Center is dedicated to inspiring passion through the arts.  The center is comprised of the 227-seat Firehouse Theater, the 2000 square foot Harrington Gallery, classrooms and rehearsal space, the grand atrium lobby, and the famous interior glass bridge.  With world-class performing and visual arts, exciting interactive programs for all ages, and a state-of-the-art venue which opened in 2010, we combine the sophistication of the culturally rich Bay Area arts landscape with the hospitality and intimacy of our own home town.  The Firehouse Arts Center is located at 4444 Railroad Avenue in downtown Pleasanton.  Media:  Jane Onojafe, jonojafe@cityofpleasantonca.gov

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