On the evening of December 19th the Barton Hills Choir sixth graders made their second appearance of the day at a CD Release party held at Barton Hills Elementary. Fresh from recording a show at KUT to air on Wednesday, December 21 at 2 PM, the sixth graders performed holiday favorites, inviting all the younger choir members onstage for the final songs.
Pictures below were taken by Director Gavin Tabone. Click to enlarge.
On December 19, 2011, sixth-grade members of the Barton Hills Choir visited KUT’s Studio 1A to record a set of holiday favorites for Music With Jay Trachtenberg. The performance, hosted by Jay Trachtenberg, was broadcast on KUT on December 21 at 2 PM and featured Austin singer-songwriter Sara Hickman as a guest vocalist.
2:36 — “Winter Wonderland” — featuring Sara Hickman
4:47 — Jay Trachtenberg talks with Gavin Tabone about the choir’s preparations and upcoming performances, its collaboration with Sara Hickman, and the choir’s CD
9:03 — “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” — featuring Sara Hickman
11:31 — “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” — featuring Sara Hickman
14:47 — Gavin Tabone introduces the musicians and talks with Jay Trachtenberg about the choir’s recent performances
16:32 — “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” — featuring Sara Hickman
18:57 — “Jingle Bell Rock” — featuring Sara Hickman
21:05 — Closing thanks to Cliff Hargrove and Jay Trachtenberg and holiday wishes
From the BHC Archives
The original KUT audio for this program disappeared from the web over the years, but in September 2026, Todd Callahan of KUTX located the December 21, 2011 recording in the station’s archives and generously provided Barton Hills Choir with a copy and permission to make it available here as part of the choir’s historical archive.
Recording Session Photos
These photos from the December 19 recording session in KUT’s Studio 1A were taken by Kathy Carr. Click to enlarge.
On December 4 the Barton Hills Choir braved cold and rain to perform a set of holiday favorites at the annual Zilker Tree lighting ceremony before a surprisingly large and very appreciative audience. The choir was accompanied by several awesome local musicians including:
Randy Franklin – Mandolin
Jake Perlman – drums
Aaron Dembe – guitar
Jason Nunnenkamp – bass
Tom Treanor – sleigh bells
The pictures below were provided by Anna Bryan-Borja. Click to enlarge.
The Nutcracker ballet with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia on December 18th, 1892. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann’s story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.”
The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy is famous for it’s use of an instrument called the celesta that appears similar to an upright piano but sounds similar to a glockenspiel. Composer John Williams’ scores for the first three Harry Potter films make prominent use of the celesta.
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