A large audience made up of the young and not-quite-so-young filed into Chenery Auditorium Saturday evening for what has become a popular holiday tradition, the annual Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra "Home for the Holidays" program.

Joining the orchestra onstage were two guest ensembles, the Western Brass Quintet and the Kalamazoo Singers Holiday Chorus.  Among the additions this time was local local radio host Lori Moore, who read Clement C. Moore's "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" (unofficially known as "Twas the Night before Christmas"), accompanied by delightful orchestral music scored precisely to the reading.  Moore's rendering was characterized by superb delivery and timing.

The orchestra selected seasonal rather than exclusively Christmas music.  David Ott's "Fantasy on Adeste Fidelis" opened, followed immediately by R. Vaughan Williams' beloved secular work "Fantasy on Greensleeves."  Especially pleasing to the many children in the audience were the KSO's fine renditions of "March of the Little Leaden Soldiers," "Here Comes Santa Claus" and Gabriel Pierne's charming "Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!"

The orchestra's sound was smooth and finely rendered, from assertive fortes to delicate pianissimos.  The players donning of snow hats and scarves while performing "Let it Snow!" made for laughs and broad smiles throughout the hall.

An exceptionally lovely commissioned arrangement of carols by Gwyneth Walker - who was in the audience - served to balance the orchestra's offerings.  Walker's "Rejoice!," composed for orchestra and chorus, included stunningly beautiful versions of "What Child is This?", "Love Came Down at Christmas" and "Good Christian Friends Rejoice!"  Walker's scoring produced lush harmonies and effective pianissimos, with no breaks between the three pieces.

With "Rejoice!," the KSO and the chorus worked together superbly under the baton of Raymond Harvey.  Later the chorus' own director, Thomas Kasdorf, took the podium for four a capella pieces.  For this concert, Kasforf more than doubled the size of his Kalamazoo Singers, so that about 100 vocalists sang these four numbers, mostly without full accompaniment.

Kasdorf elicited clean, sharp attacks and releases, along with fine intonation.  Of these four pieces, the enchanting crowd pleaser was Robert DeCormier's calypso arrangement of "The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy" with bongo drums.

The popular Western Brass Quintet is made of of Western Michigan University faculty.  On Saturday, they were exceptional.  Morley Calvert's "Suite from the Monteregian Hills" included fascinating harmonies, with faint dissonances sounding almost sweet.  Attacks were flawless, crisp and unfailing, with true intonation.  The clear sound of brass seemed particularly potent as contrast to a full orchestra and large chorus.

Unlike many previous programs, this did not include a sing-along of best-known carols and seasonal songs.  Nor was a sing-along missed, because the chrous and orchestra joined forces for a well-performed finale, "Symphony of Carols," arranged by Randol Bass.  Singing in different languages, the chorus did full justice to the well-known carols.

The closing "Adeste Fidelis" was spectacular.  Two encores - Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride" and a short section from Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" - rounded out another wonderfully pleasing evening of holiday music.

Thanks, KSO.