Stop all your holiday craziness for an hour or two–relax at SI Phil’s annual Festipalooza! We celebrate everything, and all you have to do is listen. Well, and sing along a little bit. Saturday afternoon December 21, 2 pm, at Zion Lutheran Church, 505 Watchogue Road, in the sanctuary. Like all the best things in life, it’s FREE, but please bring a nonperishable food item if you can, to share with our local food pantries. Look forward to seeing you there! And please share…Thank you!

Get your holiday cheer on with the Staten Island Philharmonic’s Festipalooza! Sunday, December 10, 2 pm, at the Bernikow JCC, 1466 Manor Road. Sleigh Ride, a Hanukah celebration, music for the Solstice, Kwanzaa, and more! And did I mention that it’s FREE! So come on down. Please share if you can–the more, the merrier.

Join more than 50 Staten Island Philharmonic musicians next Sunday, November 19, for a tuneful concert spotlighting the past, present, and future of American music. 2 pm in the Social Hall at the Jewish Community Center, 1466 Manor Road, and it’s FREE!

We’re excited to introduce our audiences to guest conductor David Leibowitz. David holds a Masters Degree from the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music, and is best known around NYC as the founder and music director of Manhattan’s New York Repertory Orchestra.

This concert is sponsored, in part, by public funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, an Encore Grant from Staten Island Arts through the New York State Council on the Arts, and by the generosity of good friends like YOU!

You have 2 more opportunities this holiday weekend to hear SIPhil’s American Salute! We have a 42-piece wind ensemble, Viva Voce Chorus, and Dyker Singers performing music by Richard Rodgers, Leonard Bernstein, along with patriotic favorites. Our conductor is Scott Jackson Wiley, guest conductor is Donna D’Ermilio, and last, but not least, the renowned Wayne Miller as narrator for a musical setting of “Casey at the Bat.” Oh, and it’s all FREE! Bring a lawn chair, bring refreshments (Tuesday’s concert will also have refreshments onsite), and have a great time.

Due to the high probability of rain this weekend, the Staten Island Philharmonic’s Ukrainian Heritage concert has moved indoors, to Huguenot Park Reformed Church, 5474 Amboy Road. Still Sunday, June 25, 6 pm, and still FREE! First half has Sergei Prokofiev’s iconic Peter and the Wolf, and a piece by contemporary Ukrainian composer Catherine Likhuta, “Let the Darkness Out.” Leonard Bernstein’s parents were both immigrants from the Ukraine, so the second half will be all Bernstein, with selections from West Side Story, On the Town, and Candide. Come on down–you’ll have a great time while staying dry!