Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – “Christmas with the Annie Moses Band” is a must-see holiday event. Just ask two local fans – one who taught harp to one of the band’s members and one who has performed with the band at the Grand Ole Opry and Carnegie Hall.
The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts will present “Christmas with the Annie Moses Band” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12, in W.M. Turner Auditorium as part of its 2017-18 University Series. This holiday performance of the Annie Moses Band is sponsored in part by Nacogdoches Medical Center.
Blending a wide variety of musical styles into a sound they call “chamber pop,” the Nashville-based Annie Moses Band is a talented family of singers and string musicians who combine technical skill with exhilarating showmanship, according to Scott Shattuck, associate dean in the SFA College of Fine Arts and director of the University Series.
“Well known nationally from their popular PBS Christmas special, these inspiring siblings play and sing holiday favorites arranged in dazzling style by their father, Bill Wolaver, who is a leading composer on the contemporary Christian music scene,” Shattuck said.
Emily Mitchell, world-renowned harpist and artist-in-residence in SFA’s School of Music, taught band member Camille Wolaver when she was a little girl, and Emily Williams, SFA senior music major, serves as a violin mentor and administrative staff member for the Annie Moses Band’s Fine Arts Summer Academy.
“I work with beginner violin students at the Academy and help them prepare for a variety of shows and performances, including our final gala at the Grand Ole Opry,” Williams said. “I performed in their PBS special ‘Art of the Love Song,’ and I will be joining them on stage at Carnegie Hall for the second time this coming January.”
Mitchell taught Camille while the Wolaver family lived in Connecticut; Mitchell was living in New York City at the time.
“The family then moved to Nashville, and I didn’t see Camille again until last year when the family performed in Houston,” Mitchell said. “I remember being so impressed how close the family is – all remarkable performers joyously creating their own unique sound individually as well as collectively.
“The Annie Moses Band generates great energy as well as gentle tenderness,” Mitchell added. “Musical arrangements are first class with a huge dose of fun. Run to get tickets!”
Although Mitchell will be performing with the New Houston Harp Ensemble on the day of the Nacogdoches concert, she plans to attend the holiday event.
“I wouldn’t miss the Annie Moses Band for the world,” she said.
Williams also plans to attend the concert.
“I am most looking forward to enjoying the energy of Christmas with the Annie Moses Band,” she said. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been to one of their Christmas concerts. To my fellow students, I would say that it is going to be an amazing and inspiring evening, definitely worth taking the time to attend during finals week!”
Prior to the performance, Williams will present an informative talk at 7 p.m. in Griffith Gallery. The gallery is located across the hall from Turner Auditorium, which is inside the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive. The audience is invited back to the gallery for a post-performance reception to meet the band and to honor the event’s corporate sponsor.
Single event ticket prices for the University Series are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and $10 for non-SFA students/youth. Tickets for SFA students are $3.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit finearts.sfasu.edu, stop by the Box Office in Room 211 of the Griffith Fine Arts Building, or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.