Holiday miracles come in all shapes and sizes.
Sunday’s version was a Size 10, as in 10 members of the New Jersey Ballet Orchestra. The string section, to be exact.
It was miraculous that these players found time between their matinee and evening performances of Nutcracker at the Mayo Performing Arts Center to squeeze in a special concert at the Spring Hills assisted living center in Morristown.
This enabled 92-year-old Spring Hills resident Norbert Dembinski, who has Alzheimer’s disease, to hear a performance by his daughter, violist Andrea Santora, for the first time in 20 years. Another holiday miracle.
“Everybody’s exhausted, but thrilled to be here,” Andrea said. Her comrades were entering the home stretch of a 14-show Nutcracker run that concludes on Christmas Eve at the Mayo.
The 30-minute mini-concert, which featured excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s famous score and other holiday chestnuts, was “very emotional,” she said.
Conductor Gary Fagin encouraged Spring Hills residents to sing along. He said the musicians enjoyed the occasion as much as the listeners.
“It’s such a joy,” Fagin said. “It’s an honor to come and play this great holiday music for such a receptive audience. It’s heartwarming when an audience connects so viscerally to this warmth and the deep feeling of the holiday music. It means a lot.”
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