By SANDY JOHANSEN / Staff writer

A packed house at Hot Springs Village Woodlands Auditorium was treated to a magnificent performance by the Hot Springs Concert Band. Under the direction of Dr. Craig Hamilton, the orchestra demonstrated not only its skills but its enthusiasm for Christmas and the whimsical music of the holiday season.
Opening the evening it is the band’s tradition to play “Star Spangled Banner,” which brought the audience to its feet singing along enthusiastically.
A compilation of songs initiated Leroy Anderson’s 1950 composition “A Christmas Festival,” followed by “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” The musical choices brought a superb opening to the evening.
Hamilton’s entertaining comments introduced each selection, giving listeners an insight and history to the melodies offered for the evening’s enjoyment of the season.
Arnold Rawls, artist in residence at Ouachita Baptist University and skilled tenor, introduced “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” as the first of three selections. Rawls is currently singing the part of Caláf in Puccini’s “Turandot” at the New York Metropolitan Opera and is scheduled to additionally perform in Verdi’s “Il Trovatore.” His vocals were, as imagined – impeccable – especially his execution of “Nessun Dorma.”
Concert selections for the evening ranged from traditional to newer hits such as “Christmas Time is Here,” a Peanuts favorite by Mendelson and Guaraldi.
As indicated by the audience’s standing ovations, this concert was phenomenal and a glorious launching of the Christmas holiday season.
The concert was primarily underwritten by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Hot Springs along with other sponsors, Community Trust, Re/Max of HSV, KVRE, Community of Joy Lutheran Church, Weyerhaeuser, National Park College, Eisenhauer Insurance, Goslee Printing, Crook’s Music, Kendall’s Barber Shop,
Bennett Brothers, the Sentinel Record and the Hot Springs Village Voice.