Wintertime events abound — think of this list as one that brushes away snow from a frosty window pane, revealing the treats that await inside.
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Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
Fresh off of their sold-out “Classical Christmas” concert at the Tennessee Theatre that featured Hely-Hutchinson’s A Carol Symphony and part of Handel’s Messiah, the KSO has already leapt into a month of regional run-out concerts, a month that also includes the annual Clayton Holiday Concerts at the Civic Auditorium.
• Wednesday, December 7, Noon — Q Series at the Elks Lodge
A KSO String Quartet featuring Audrey Pride, Kyle Venlet, Jennifer Bloch, and Adam Ayers and the Principal Woodwind Quintet will perform an intriguing selection of chamber-sized works including “Winter” from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and works by Muczynski, Corelli, Waldteufel, Johann Strauss, and Leopold Mozart. Lunch is included with ticket purchase. See this link for tickets and directions to the Elks Lodge.
• Friday – Sunday, December 16-18, 36th Annual Clayton Holiday Concert at the Civic Auditorium. KSO will be joined by Irish band Four Leaf Peat, Knoxville Choral Society, GO! Contemporary Dance Works, Knoxville Pipes & Drums, and the Knoxville Symphony Youth Choir. Four performances:
Friday, Dec. 16, 2022, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022, at 3 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022, at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022, at 3 p.m.
Tickets
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Clarence Brown Theatre
Clarence Brown Theatre’s production of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol continues through Sunday, December 18. Read the Arts Knoxville review.
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Cathedral Arts Series at St John’s Episcopal Cathedral: Knoxville Jazz Orchestra Quartet
Friday, December 9, 7:00 PM
Local jazz ensemble, the Mark Boling Sextet, offers Christmas favorites from a fresh jazz perspective. This is a ticketed event— $15. Tickets
Saint John’s Episcopal Cathedral, 413 Cumberland Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-525-7347, https://www.stjohnscathedral.org/
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Knoxville Jazz Orchestra: “A Swingin’ Christmas” with Victor Provost
Tuesday, December 20, 8:00 PM — Tennessee Theatre
“The hippest concert of the season. Sparkling arrangements of holiday favorites in the style of Ellington, Basie and other jazz greats. Special guests include Victor Provost, one of the world’s greatest practitioners of the Steel Pan, plus vocalists Kelle Jolly and Evelyn Jack.”
Concert will be preceded at 7:00 PM by a performance by the Knoxville Jazz Youth Orchestra.
Tickets and Info
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Knoxville Children’s Theatre: The Carol!
“A community theatre is trying to keep its head above water and when famous stage actor Sir Anthony Stewart is unable to play Scrooge in their annual production of A Christmas Carol, their technical director and house understudy has to step in. A farce that includes the guy who takes theatre a little too seriously, the girl who is always late, the guy who doesn’t prepare, the spoiled grandson of Sir Anthony, lots of teenage drama, and a major error by the new marketing person that throws everything into a tailspin.”
Selected dates and times through December 18 — Tickets and Info
Knoxville Children’s Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville
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Appalachian Ballet Company: The Nutcracker
The ABC’s annual production of The Nutcracker
Dec 9-10 at Clayton Center for the Arts in Maryville
Friday, December 9, 7:00pm
Accompanied by Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, December 10, 3:00pm
Tickets: https://appalachianballet.org/tickets.html
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UT Downtown Gallery: Figures, a two-person show by Birmingham-based artist, Amy Pleasant, and Alfred University associate professor, Katarina Riesing
Continues through December 15.
UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay Street, Downtown Knoxville
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Arts & Culture Alliance: 2022 Members Show
The Arts & Culture Alliance 2022 Members Show, the largest annual exhibition of local artists in the Greater Knoxville area, runs through December 22 at the Emporium Center. The show features a mix of works in oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, mixed media, photography, fine craft, sculpture, ceramics, and fiber from artists who are individual members of the Arts & Culture Alliance.
The Emporium gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Saturday, December 10, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. The Emporium will be closed December 23 – January 2. For more information, please see www.knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.
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East Tennessee Historical Society: Lights! Camera! East TN!
Lights! Camera! East Tennessee! is a new feature exhibition at the East Tennessee History Center that chronicles Knoxville’s contribution to film. Included are stories of Knoxvillians that became involved in Hollywood, from director Clarence Brown to film critic and novelist James Agee.
Lights! Camera! East Tennessee! also focuses on the numerous actors from across East Tennessee who became Hollywood A-listers and the list of films that were shot in East Tennessee, including 1970’s A Walk in the Spring Rain and That Evening Sun from 2009, both of which premiered in Knoxville.
The exhibition runs through July 3, 2023.
East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902.
Museum hours: M-F 9-4, Sa 10-4, Su 1-5.
Information: 865-215-8824, www.eastTNhistory.org/lights-camera
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River and Rail Theatre Company: The Wolves
In a co-production between River & Rail and Pellissippi State Community College Department Of Theatre, The Wolves by Sarah Delappe runs December 1 – 18 at Old City Performing Arts Center, 111 State Street, in the Old City. The play premiered Off-Broadway in 2016 and was a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
“This sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, and sometimes terrifying play takes an insider’s look at a high school girls soccer team and finds a full human microcosm there.”
Check website for performance schedule and ticket information.
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Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church: Works by the TVUUC Art Gallery Committee
Exhibit featuring works by the Gallery Committee is free and open to the public
Opens December 11 and runs through February 7
Gallery hours: Monday through Thursday, 9:30-4:30; Sunday, 9:00-1:00
Closed: December 23–December 30.
Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Gallery, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37918
