Hundreds of tubas trimmed with tinsel, garlands and lights will fill the stage of The University of Akron's E.J. Thomas Hall for the 33rd anniversary of Akron's beloved TubaChristmas on Saturday, Dec. 22.

The performances at noon and 2:30 p.m. are free and open to the public as a holiday gift to the community from The University of Akron's School of Music and E.J. Thomas Hall. Parking is also free.

Beacon Journal columnist Jewell Cardwell will be the guest soloist for both performances.

Girls Night: The Musical is coming to the Akron Civic Theatre, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 at 8 p.m.

Share the fun & laughter at this hilarious, feel-good comedy as five girlfriends go from heartbreak to happiness during a wild night of karaoke. Get your girlfriends together and come sing along, dance along, and sip on cocktails as you take in this party of a show!

Girls Night: The Musical has earned rave reviews playing packed houses throughout the United Kingdom since 2003. It premiered in the US in May 2007 and has toured across the country since then. It has been described as "'Desperate Housewives' meets Mamma Mia!" (Applause Magazine), "Part anthem, part confessional and all party!" (Telegram & Gazette), "An infectious, exhilarating sense of intoxication!" (Hollywood Reporter) and "As funny and outrageous as 'Sex and the City'!" (The Advocate).

Pianist "Jingle" Joe Augustine, trumpeter Jack "Frost" Schantz, vocalist "Peppermint" Patty LaNasa and more musicians from The University of Akron School of Music are combining their musical talents for Jingle Jazz on Sunday, Dec. 9, 3 p.m. at E.J. Thomas Hall, 198 Hill St., on the UA campus.

The concert will include jolly, jazzy selections from Duke Ellington's "Jazz Nutcracker" by the UA Jazz Ensemble, Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" by The Joe Augustine Trio, and other seasonal favorites.

Advance-sale tickets are available at the Thomas Hall Ticket Office and by phone at 330-972-7570. Tickets will be sold at the door if seating is still available. Tickets are $12 for general admission; $6 for non-UA students, and free for UA students when they show their Zip Cards. "Jingle Jazz" is part of the Kulas Concert Series, the UA School of Music's signature concert series that is supported by the Cleveland-based Kulas Foundation.

The Akron Symphony launched its pre-holiday, 3-2-1 tickets sale. Through midnight on Friday, Nov. 30, buyers can save more than 50 percent on tickets for all remaining concerts this season. The 3-2-1 Sale officially runs Nov. 28 - Nov. 30 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For the first time, and only during this special event, discount tickets can also be purchased online. The online sale started at midnight on Cyber Monday, Nov. 26  and runs through midnight on Friday, Nov. 30.

"We are pleased to once again offer great tickets at a reduced price just in time for gift-giving or a holiday outing," said Joanne Green, the Akron Symphony's Director of Marketing and Public Relations. "Although we always offer ticket discounts for students, seniors and groups, we hope the 3-2-1 Sale give more community members incentive to come out and experience our fabulous Akron Symphony Orchestra."

The Akron Symphony Orchestra continues its Classics concert series with Gloria, featuring a program of celebratory music, at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10 at The University of Akron's EJ Thomas Hall. The concert will be conducted by Maestro Christopher Wilkins and Akron Symphony Chorus Director, Maria Sensi Sellner.

The program begins with Mozart's radiant Exsultate, jubilate conducted by Maestro Wilkins. It also features a solo by guest soprano, Rebekah Camm. "This piece finds Mozart in a mood of irresistible joy and loving tenderness," said Maestro Wilkins. "It's a fitting piece for November, a month of feasts, giving thanks, celebration and hope."

The concert continues with the Akron premiere of Sukkot through Orion's Nebula, a newer orchestration by composer, James Lee, III. It was co-commissioned by the Akron Symphony through the Sphinx Organization, which supports excellence and diversity in the field of classical music, and first performed in October 2011.

A musical and theatrical thrill ride, Collage 2012 comes the EJ Thomas Hall on Thursday, Nov. 1, at 7:30 p.m.

Experience the best of the UA School of Music in this breath-taking event as performers appear and disappear throughout the concert hall. A reception will follow the performance.

Wildly popular, Collage concerts are high-energy showcases by top music schools around the country. With an all-new program, this marks the third Collage concert by the UA School of Music.

Available in advance and at the door, tickets are $12 for general admission, $6 for non-UA students, and free for UA students. Open seating. Visit the Thomas Hall Ticket office or call 330-972-7570. More information is at www.uaevents.com.

Collage is part of the UA School of Music's Kulas Concert Series. Support also comes from The Kenneth L. Calhoun Charitable Trust, KeyBank, Trustee.

Years back while riding the Metro, riders may have witnessed a woman "practicing drums" on her knees. So caught up was she in her newfound love of percussion that..."I'd miss stops, oh yes," says Highland Square resident and musician Elizabeth Morgan.

The call to beat a drum must have been preordained because Morgan says she went out about 14 years ago to buy a used guitar and ended up with a drum. Way back, Morgan played guitar for a quite a few years but adds she was "never more than adequate." Today, she plays the djembe (JEM bay), a goblet-shaped African drum played with bare hands, fashioned of wood and leather with sisal twine.

Sitting on a front porch during an incredibly windy early fall evening in the Square, the intermittent rain lashes about, creating a feisty backdrop that complements Morgan's own passion for music and the group with whom she plays.

The Akron Symphony Orchestra continues the Classics Series with Rhapsody in Blue, featuring popular favorites by American classical music masters Bernstein, Barber and Gershwin. Led by Maestro Christopher Wilkins and featuring a piano solo by Levi Hammer, Rhapsody in Blue takes place at 8 pm on Saturday, October 13th at The University of Akron’s EJ Thomas Performing Arts Hall.

“George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is rightly considered a keystone of American music. Its marriage of popular and serious styles is by now part of the signature American sound,” said Maestro Wilkins. “Gershwin’s uncanny gift for combining unforgettable melodies and vibrant rhythms has made the work a modern icon. It will be a thrill for the audience to hear our own Levi Hammer perform it.”

Keep checking back for all Music on the Porches 2012 events. We continue to book a music-filled day on Saturday, Sept. 29. 22 PERFORMANCES CONFIRMED ALREADY.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Bronson Memorial Church, 330-657-2211

Join us at the historic Bronson Church where Hazel Broughton will play the 1880s Estey pump organ. Docents will be on hand to answer your questions.

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, 800-468-4070

The train whistle is music to our ears! Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad's Festival of Steam!

The "OC 1293" steam engine will be riding the rails through the Valley.

Peninsula Explorer

Leave your car at home and take the Peninsula Explorer to Peninsula's Music on the Porches.

The Akron Symphony Orchestra season opens on Sept. 15 with its first Classics Series concert featuring some of the best loved music of the stage. Maestro Christopher Wilkins will launch the 2012-2013 season of the Akron Symphony with an energetic opening night program featuring Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3, Strauss's youthful tone poem, Don Juan and Tchaikovsky's popular 5th symphony. The concert takes place at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15 at The University of Akron's EJ Thomas Hall. Previews from the Podium, a program discussion with Maestro Wilkins, will precede the concert at 7 p.m.

"All three works fit easily into the category of best loved music of all time," said Maestro Christopher Willkins, music director and conductor of the Akron Symphony Orchestra. "One thing you can count on at opening night is that the musicians of the Akron Symphony will create the wow factor all night long."