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Holidays and careers full of lovely strains
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE, Times Staff Writer
ST. PETERSBURG -- Few things capture the magic and nostalgia of Christmas as its music. From Handel's Messiah to ancient carols, for many it's an excuse for a merry off-key sing-along or quiet enjoyment as those of more talent perform. John and Carmen Bannon of St. Petersburg are two musicians whose professional lives typically spin into a whirlwind during the holiday season. He is principal timpanist for the Florida Orchestra and a regular performer at area churches, among them Christ United Methodist Church, the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle and First Baptist Church of Tampa. She plays the flute with the Florida West Coast Symphony in Sarasota, is an extra for the Florida Orchestra and also plays for Christ United Methodist Church. Bringing Christmas music to worshipers and general audiences is not just a job, Mrs. Bannon says. "I absolutely love it," she said, describing the music of the season as both beautiful and moving. On Sunday, she and her husband will perform at the 10th Annual Winter Choral Music Festival presented by St. Petersburg College and Christ United Methodist Church. The concert will take place at 3:30 p.m. at Christ United Methodist, 467 First Ave. N. This week Bannon joked that he and his wife had entered "the 17-day siege" of holiday performances, which for him will include Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve at St. Jude's. "It's pretty typical of the season," he said of their crammed schedule. Bannon, 48, started playing at Christ United Methodist about eight years ago, said Janice Buchanan, head of the St. Petersburg College Foundation and director of music for almost 20 years at Christ United Methodist. "I think John first played for us at special concerts. We liked him so much and we saw that the timpani (kettledrums) added so much to our worship service. He's just very, very talented and flexible," said Mrs. Buchanan, who also was director of choral activities at St. Petersburg College. It was during Mrs. Buchanan's tenure as choral activities director that St. Petersburg College and First United Methodist established their musical partnership a decade ago. "It was mainly because at that time the college did not have a venue for the sizes of the choruses we had to present a concert, and so we went out to many different places. And since I was at Christ United Methodist, it seemed like a good idea to join together," she said, noting that the downtown church seats about 1,100 people. It's become a holiday tradition for many, she said. "Every year, there's just a very, very large audience and everything has always been very warmly received. Many people have come year after year after year," Mrs. Buchanan said. During Sunday's concert, Mrs. Bannon will get to play at least one of her favorite Christmas pieces, Adolph Adam's Cantique de Noel (O Holy Night), in a setting by St. Petersburg College's internationally known composer Stephen Montague. Sunday's performance will mark the American premier of the work. The Bannons met as students at Northeast High School. "His parents retired from Alaska, and they happened to move to a house in my school district. He was really smart. We just kind of hooked up. He really helped me a lot with my career. He really inspired me," said Mrs. Bannon, 47, who is a music coach for the Pinellas Youth Symphony and also teaches flute at Northside Christian School. The couple has two children, 16-year-old Elizabeth, "Liz," who attends Northside Christian, and Michael, 9, a student at St. Petersburg Christian School. Both children have been trained musically, and Michael is continuing his studies with the piano. "They both are, in fact, extremely talented," Bannon said. The elder Bannons' professional lives are full year round, even after their orchestras break for the summer. "In the summers, we go to the Colorado Music Festival and he plays all the time and I play as an extra player," Mrs. Bannon said. In the past, she said, they have spent summers in Mexico and Alaska, where her husband was principal timpanist with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria in Mexico City and the Anchorage Symphony. He played with the Oklahoma Symphony for nine years and also has performed with the Honolulu Symphony. Lately, their lives have become even busier. John Bannon commutes to the University of Miami, where he is in his second year as a doctoral student in instrumental conducting. He also is associate conductor of the university's symphony orchestra. Sunday he will be guest conductor for the Montague arrangement of Cantique de Noel. The concert also will feature a 135-voice choir from Christ United Methodist's Sanctuary Choir and Spirit Bound Singers, the St. Petersburg College Choir, St. Petersburg College Community Chorus and St. Petersburg College Madrigalians. The combined choir will perform pieces that include the first movement of John Rutter's Gloria for Choirs, Brass, Percussion and Organ, Gustav Holst's Christmas Day and SPC professor of piano Marvin Tiehaara's setting of Langston Hughes' poem Shepherd's Song. Christ United Methodist's Harmony Ringers Handbell Choir will play a medley of Silver Bells, Carol of the Bells and Gloria. Barry Stevens, accompanist for SPC and organist at Christ United Methodist Church, will play Louis Vierne's Carillon de Westminster on the church's Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ. The afternoon's soloists will be Jennifer Sanchez, soprano and recent winner of the National Vocal Contest in Palm Beach, and Rod Frankland, tenor, a retired detective with the St. Petersburg Police Department. The concert also will feature a brass and percussion ensemble, piano and flute. A highlight of the 70-minute program, conducted by Dr. Vernon Taranto, director of choral music at SPC, and Mrs. Buchanan, will be its popular Hallelujah Chorus sing-along. In the past, said Mrs. Buchanan, children as young as 7 have joined with those who have sung the work for more than 60 years. "Only in St. Petersburg," she said. "And aren't we blessed!" If you goSt. Petersburg College and Christ United Methodist Church choirs will present their 10th Annual Winter Choral Festival at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Christ United Methodist Church, 467 First Ave. N, St. Petersburg. There will be a collection for SPC music scholarships.
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