Innovation on program for Gryphon Carolers Innovation on program for Gryphon Carolers (December 14, 2005)

By Renee Batti

Almanac News Editor

For many people, the holidays just wouldn't seem complete without the sounds of carols and other seasonal music.

But local holiday music lovers craving a more expansive listening experience than a cappella renditions of "Jingle Bells" and "Silent Night" might consider heading for Redwood City's Fox Theatre on Sunday afternoon, December 18, when the Gryphon Carolers and All Stars perform their annual holiday concert.

The ensembles, whose leaders and arrangers include singer-guitarists Ed Johnson of Menlo Park and Carol McComb of Woodside, will perform their eclectic style of instrumental and vocal music at 3 p.m. at the Fox.

The Christmas and holiday songs and instrumental works on the program range from traditional and contemporary takes on Celtic music, modern jazz vocal arrangements set in Brazilian and Latin styles, and original songs and compositions, according to Gryphon member Benita Kenn, a Menlo Park singer and songwriter.

The Gryphon Carolers was launched 24 years ago by Mr. Johnson and Ms. McComb, who recruited singers from their harmony voice classes at Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto. The vocal ensemble now has 35 singers, who are accompanied by the Gryphon All Stars.

That instrumental group includes Ms. McComb on guitar and percussion, Mr. Johnson on piano and guitar, and Woodside Priory teacher Kris Yenney on cello. Ms. Yenney is also the group's assistant conductor.

Through the years, the Gryphon groups performed their holiday concerts at other venues, but their performances for the last two years at Stanford's Dinkelspiel Theater have been sell-outs. This year, Ms. Kenn says, the groups decided to go for broke, leaving the 700-plus-seat Dinkelspiel for the 1,400-seat Fox.

Just as the Gryphon Carolers and All Stars audiences have grown through the years, so have their musical horizons. Ms. McComb, who with Mr. Johnson arranged most of the music on the program, notes in a press release that the Carolers' current repertoire "is far more sophisticated than the simple, traditional carols we started with so many seasons ago." Some of the arrangements, she adds, have as many as seven different vocal parts.

Tickets for the concert are $25 for adults, and $15 for children under 12 and seniors 65 and older. They can be purchased in advance at the Fox Theatre box office, 369-4119; at Gryphon Stringed Instruments, 211 Lambert Ave., Palo Alto, 493-2131; or online at www.gryphonallstars.com. They may also be purchased at the box office on the day of the concert.

The Fox Theatre is at 2215 Broadway in Redwood City.

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