The Toledo Symphony Orchestra (TSO) and Toledo Ballet announced today changes to their upcoming holiday performances in December. The TSO’s annual Christmas at the Peristyle, scheduled for December 5 & 6 (3 PM) and Toledo Ballet’s 80th Anniversary Nutcracker, a tribute to Founder and Artistic Director Emerita Marie Bollinger Vogt, scheduled for December 11 (7 PM), December 12 (2 PM & 7 PM), and December 13 (1 PM & 5 PM), will be offered virtual only due to Ohio Governor Mike Dewine’s recommendations and Lucas County’s stay-at-home advisory related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“While we certainly hoped to proceed with live, in-person audiences, The Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts is playing our part to limit COVID spread by taking these performances online,” said President and CEO Zak Vassar. “While we won’t be able to celebrate the season in person, we guarantee that you’ll feel that festive holiday spirit when you watch our performances in beautiful HD on our new state of the art TAPA Streaming platform,” continued Vassar.
The TSO’s CHRISTMAS AT THE PERISTYLE is a family-friendly, December tradition that features a variety of seasonal classics and traditional favorites for audiences of all ages. This year’s program includes selections from Handel’s Messiah and Holst’s St. Paul’s Suite, as well as arrangements of Carol of the Bells, White Christmas, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and more. The annual holiday show is part of the TSO’s Andersons Inc. Charitable Foundation Family Series and is made possible with additional support from McLaren St. Luke’s hospital.
TOLEDO BALLET’S NUTCRACKER is the longest running annual production of The Nutcracker in the nation. This year, Toledo Ballet celebrates its 80th anniversary and pays tribute to late Founder and Artistic Director Emerita Marie Vogt who staged the country’s first ever Nutcracker in 1940 with an abridged orchestral score from Russia. This year, the role of Clara has been changed to Marie to honor the life and legacy of Madame Vogt and her contributions to the dance community in Northwest Ohio and beyond.
“While I am saddened that we won’t be able to perform to a live audience this year, I am thankful to be a part of an organization that is able to pivot and perform The Nutcracker virtually,” said Toledo Ballet’s Artistic Director Lisa Mayer-Lang. “In this year’s virtual-only production, instead of the Stranahan as our backdrop, you’ll see limited sets at the Peristyle Theater which is where Madame Vogt’s original Nutcracker was staged. The dancers will be wearing masks, but under those masks are giant smiles and sheer joy to dance on stage as we honor our beloved Founder and forever friend Marie Vogt.”
Ticket holders may turn in their tickets as a charitable contribution to the Toledo Symphony or Toledo Ballet and will be contacted directly to discuss additional options for Christmas at the Peristyle and The Nutcracker tickets. These performances will be available to watch on TAPA Streaming, Apple TV, and Roku devices. For more information, visit stream.artstoledo.com. To download the Apple TV and Roku apps, search for “TAPA Streaming” in the device app stores. All ticketholders will receive complimentary access to view the streamed performances.
To watch Christmas at the Peristyle:
Visit: stream.artstoledo.com/products/christmas-at-the-peristyle
When: Sunday, December 6, 2020 at 3 PM
Cost: $19.99
For More info: Call the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts’ Box Office at 419.246.8000, Monday through Friday, 9 AM – 5 PM
To watch Toledo Ballet’s 80th Anniversary Nutcracker: A Tribute to Marie Bollinger Vogt
Visit: stream.artstoledo.com and choose your performance
When: Saturday, December 12 at 7pm and Sunday, December 13 at 1pm
Cost: $35
More info: Call the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts’ Box Office at 419.246.8000, Monday through Friday, 9 AM – 5 PM
For more information about the TSO’s Christmas at the Peristyle or Toledo Ballet’s 80th Anniversary Nutcracker: A Tribute to Marie Bollinger Vogt, please contact Vanessa Gardner, Director of Marketing & Communications for the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts at vgardner@artstoledo.com.
ABOUT THE TOLEDO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The Toledo Symphony Orchestra is a community-supported organization of professional musicians and teachers who deliver quality performance and music education for all.
Formed in 1943 as The Friends of Music and incorporated in 1951 as the Toledo Orchestra Association, Inc., the Toledo Symphony Orchestra (TSO) has grown from a core group of twenty-two part-time musicians to a regional orchestra that employs sixty-nine professional musicians who consider the Toledo Symphony their primary employer, as well as numerous extra players annually as repertoire demands.
On January 1, 2019, the Toledo Symphony and Toledo Ballet officially merged to form the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), a new non-profit organization dedicated to providing exceptional live music and dance performances and education for the region. This partnership promises to create new and invigorating programs, provide cost and revenue synergies in operations, and integrate the arts through shared educational missions.
The Toledo Symphony reaches more than 260,000 individuals annually through performances and education programs. The series concerts (Masterworks, Pops, Chamber, and Family Series) are the critical underpinning of the orchestra’s artistic mission and regularly draw people from 135 postal zip codes. Education programs, student performances, and community concerts are held in schools, neighborhood churches, performing arts centers, and community facilities throughout the region; many are offered at no charge or provided at a reduced fee to help expand participation.
ABOUT TOLEDO BALLET
Toledo Ballet is a pre-professional dance company that inspires the passions and spirit of the Toledo community through dance. Under the artistic leadership of Artistic Director Lisa Mayer-Lang and Resident Choreographer Michael Lang, the Toledo Ballet provides quality dance instruction and exceptional performance opportunities to over 250 students throughout northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan annually.
Founded in 1939 by Marie Bollinger Vogt, Toledo Ballet continues to offer quality dance education that span all ages and ability levels. Classes include ballet, contemporary, tap, tumbling, and Adaptive Dance, a unique class providing those with special needs an opportunity to learn to move in ways that come naturally to them. Acting, voice, musical theater, and conditioning (TRX, Pilates) are also offered at the school. In addition, Toledo Ballet brings in world-renowned, professional dancers each year to lead its summer intensive programs, drawing students from across the region seeking to advance their skills.
Toledo Ballet students have competed at the national and international level, including the Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP), the world’s largest international student ballet competition, and many have pursued dance professionally at some of the most prestigious ballet institutions in the nation, including New York City Ballet, Batsheva Dance Company in Tel Aviv, Dance Contemporary in Dayton, and Alonzo King Lines Ballet in San Francisco. Students have been admitted into distinguished programs such as the School of American Ballet, The Juilliard School, Boston Ballet, Ballet West, and many others.
On January 1, 2019, the Toledo Ballet and Toledo Symphony officially merged to form the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), a new non-profit organization dedicated to providing exceptional live music and dance performances and education for the region. Stemming from a decades-long partnership and presentation of the longest-running production of The Nutcracker in the nation, this merger is one of only a few in the nation and promises to create new and invigorating programs, provide cost and revenue synergies in operations, and integrate the arts through shared educational missions.
