Celebrate the holiday season with the Lakeland Community Concert Association's annual presentation of the Holiday Pops Concert, performed by the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.

The orchestra will appear Sunday at 2 p.m. in Rodeheaver Auditorium, Winona Lake.

Assistant Music Conductor Bradley Thachuk will provide a festive concert featuring holiday favorites like "O Holy Night," "Carol of the Bells," Mozart's "Sleigh Ride," Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride" and a Christmas carol sing-along.

Natalie Bryan, daughter of Jeff and Cheri Bryan of Winona Lake, will narrate "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."

The LCCA has worked for months to plan a special afternoon with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. Members of the Holiday Pops Committee are Phil and Mary Eherenman, Ann Gephart, Laurie Mock, June Stealy, Jack Youngblood, Nelva Verseput and Judy Mugg.

Single tickets are $15 for adults; children 18 years old and younger get free admission when accompanied by parents. This is the second LCCA concert. Subscribers also can attend performances of Mark Twain and the Laughing River Jan. 6 at 7:30 p.m.; pianists Anthony and Joseph Paratore Jan 19 at 7:30 p.m.; and the Ronald Romm trumpet concert March 29 at 7:30 p.m.

Bradley Thachuk began his tenure with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic during the 2002-03 season. As assistant conductor, Thachuk will conduct more than 25 public concerts each year. Thachuk moved to Fort Wayne from the Prince George Symphony Orchestra, where he was interim music director. Prior to that appointment, he was associate conductor of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and conductor of the opera program at Miami University. He was conducting assistant for the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops orchestras in 2001-02, and was the 2000 recipient of the prestigious David Effron Conducting Fellowship at the Chautauqua Festival in Chautauqua, N.Y.

The Fort Wayne Philharmonic has been a part of the area's musical heritage for more than half a century. The orchestra made its debut in October 1944, and dramatically expanded its concert programming in the 1945-46 season, presenting 14 programs with guest artists such as pianist William Kapell, violinist Yehudi Menuhin and tenor Mario Lanza. Over the years, the Philharmonic has performed with many renowned pop artists, including Benny Goodman, Roger Williams, The Beach Boys, Toni Tenille, Skitch Henderson, Burt Bacharach, Aretha Franklin, Doc Severinsen and dozens of others.

Today, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic carries on its musical tradition under the direction of Edvard Tchivzhel. The 500 orchestra and chamber ensemble performances are attended by more than 250,000 people in the northeastern Indiana region.

The Philharmonic's nine month season comprises the Masterworks (full orchestra), Chamber Orchestra, Pops, Unplugged, Spectrum and Freimann Series. Since 1980, the orchestra has won five awards for "adventuresome programming" from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. In addition, its educational programs are created to inspire the love of classical music in people of all ages.

Sponsors of Sunday's concert include Kosciusko REMC RoundUP Fund, Biomet, Kosciusko County Community Foundation, the city of Warsaw, LCCA, NIPSCO, Campbell & Fetter Bank, Chapman Smith Corp., RR Donnelley, the Medtronic Foundation and Zimmer. [[In-content Ad]]