Pacific Symphony Rings In The Holiday Season With Annual NUTCRACKER FOR KIDS Concert

Watch the children's toys, mice and music all come to life with Pacific Symphony presenting the "Nutcracker for Kids" in time for the holiday season! Join Associate Conductor Roger Kalia and Orange County's acclaimed Festival Ballet Theatre at the concert hall for a journey through the Land of Sweets, a grand holiday sing-a-long and a chance to meet a special guest flying in from the North Pole!

"Nutcracker for Kids" will take place on Saturday, Dec. 7 at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. This concert is part of the 2019-20 "Family Musical Mornings" series that consists of five 45-minute concerts designed for children aged 5-11, sponsored by Farmers & Merchants Bank. A Musical Carnival will be at each concert, encouraging children to test drive instruments, interact with members of Pacific Symphony and participate in themed crafts. Activities start at 9 a.m. for 10 a.m. concertgoers and 12:15 p.m. for 11:30 a.m. concertgoers. Tickets start at $50. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (714) 755-5799 or visit www.PacificSymphony.org.

Dynamic and innovative, Indian American conductor Roger Kalia is acclaimed by the press as "one to watch." A respected collaborator with orchestras and artists alike, in May 2019 Kalia was named Music Director of New Hampshire's 96-year-old orchestra, Symphony NH (Symphony New Hampshire). Since July 2018 he has served as Music Director of California's Orchestra Santa Monica, and recently had his contract extended through 2021. In January 2019, Kalia's contract with the 40-year-old Pacific Symphony was extended to August 2020, and he was promoted to Associate Conductor, having served a three-year tenure as the orchestra's Assistant Conductor and Music Director of the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra. August 2019 marks Kalia's 9th season as Music Director and co-founder of the celebrated Lake George Music Festival in upstate New York.

Festival Ballet Theatre is a professional ballet company lead by Salwa Rizkalla. Founded in 1988, the company is comprised of professional and international dancers that presents both classical and contemporary works including "The Nutcracker, "Coppelia," "Don Quixote," "Giselle," "Sleeping Beauty," "Swan Lake," "Secret Garden," "Alice In Wonderland," "Midsummer's Night Dream" and "The Firebird." Throughout the year, the Festival Ballet Theatre puts on free dance performances at an array of venues such as libraries, school and museums in order to diversify and bring dance to everyone. In 2001, Festival Ballet Theatre won the Outstanding Arts Organization of the Year by Arts Orange County and in 2014 presented Rizkalla with the Helena Modjeska Cultural Legacy Award.

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