Make The Snowman your family’s new holiday tradition
December fills up fast. This is the morning you all get to sit down together.
Everyone’s dressed and out of the house. Grandma’s next to the little one. The cousins who are in town for the holidays are a row back.
The Snowman starts on screen, and the orchestra plays the music live, right in front of you. You’ll spend half the time watching the movie and half watching your kids watch it.
That’s what you’re coming for. A morning that feels like the holidays, with the people you’d most want to spend it with.
For some kids, it’s their first time seeing a real orchestra up close. It’s a good thing to give them early.
Then make it your thing. The Snowman every December. Hot chocolate after. A snowman in the yard, if Syracuse cooperates.
It’s about an hour, so it fits between breakfast and nap time.
Two showtimes, same show: 10:30 a.m. or 12:00 p.m.
Click Get tickets and pick the time that works best for your family.
GOOD TO KNOW
Who’s it for? Everybody. Babies, big kids, grown-ups, grandparents.
How long is it? About 30 minutes, no intermission.
Which show should we pick? Same show at 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Pick whichever fits around naps and lunch. You’ll choose your time when you click Get tickets.
What should we wear? Something cozy. Holiday sweaters welcome.
When should we get there? Doors open 30 minutes before the show. Come a little early to get settled.
Where do we park? There are three lots near Inspiration Hall:
- PEC Lot, 325 Catherine St. (enter from Catherine Street, behind the PEC building)
- ARISE Lot, 635 James St. (enter from East Willow Street, across Catherine Street from the hall)
- Vera House Lot, 723 James St. (enter from East Willow Street, next to the hall)
Street parking is sometimes open nearby too.
Is the ending sad? The snowman melts at the end. It’s gentle, but little ones may have questions on the ride home.
PROGRAM
The Snowman (Blake): Howard Blake wrote the tune for “Walking in the Air” years before the film existed, after a walk on a beach in Cornwall. It became the song that plays while the boy and the snowman fly, and it’s the only singing in the whole film. Everything else, from the first snowflake to the last, is the orchestra. Listen for the moment the music lifts off the ground with them. The film runs 26 minutes.
Additional information about The Snowman is available at www.thesnowman.com
The Snowman © Snowman Enterprises Limited
Image © Snowman Enterprises Ltd
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PROGRAM NOTES
Originally published in 1978, The Snowman, created and illustrated by Raymond Briggs has become one of the world’s most popular children’s books, selling in excess of 8.5 million copies worldwide and being translated into over 15 languages.
In 1982, Raymond Briggs’ classic picture book The Snowman was adapted as a 26-minute animated film by TVC (at the time the UK’s longest established animation studio), under the direction of Dianne Jackson. Having spotted the potential for creating a unique and ground-breaking animation, John Coates, instructed two trusted assistant animators, Hilary Audus and Joanna Harrison, to ...
Originally published in 1978, The Snowman, created and illustrated by Raymond Briggs has become one of the world’s most popular children’s books, selling in excess of 8.5 million copies worldwide and being translated into over 15 languages.
In 1982, Raymond Briggs’ classic picture book The Snowman was adapted as a 26-minute animated film by TVC (at the time the UK’s longest established animation studio), under the direction of Dianne Jackson. Having spotted the potential for creating a unique and ground-breaking animation, John Coates, instructed two trusted assistant animators, Hilary Audus and Joanna Harrison, to go and buy a dozen copies of the book for the purpose of dissecting it and storyboarding the very first animatic.
This quickly turned into a hand-drawn animation bible, which became the template for the final film. John Coates’ passion for bringing the book to the screen quickly caught the attention of Sir Jeremy Issacs, former Chief Executive of Channel 4 who believed that it would be a fantastic piece for the channel and stand out from the rest of its schedule.
The Snowman was first shown in the UK on 26 December 1982 and has since been shown every year on Channel 4; it has also delighted audiences across the world.
In keeping with the book, the film of The Snowman is wordless and free of dialogue, except for the now iconic, “Walking in the Air” which features as part of a now timeless musical score.
Both song and score were written and composed by Howard Blake, who had in fact written the melody some years before having been inspired by a walk on a Cornish beach.
HISTORY
Born in 1934 in Wimbledon, South London, Raymond Briggs studied at the Wimbledon School of Art, and the Slade School of Fine Art. When he graduated in 1957, he immediately started writing and illustrating, and in 1961 also began work as a part-time lecturer in illustration at Brighton Polytechnic.
That Raymond both writes and illustrates is evident in his work. As he himself said, “The whole point of illustration is that it is literary. If it is not, it remains a drawing only.” His early illustration work included Ring-a-Ring o’ Roses, published in 1962, and The Mother Goose Treasury, published in 1966. The characteristic visual and verbal style of Raymond is well-known and recognised, and can be seen at its best in the comic strip style books for which he is possibly best known. The hilarious Father Christmas (1973) won the Kate Greenaway medal, and The Snowman is a favourite across all age-ranges.
“The main inspiration behind The Snowman was one of my other characters, Fungus the Bogeyman. After two years of being immersed in much, slime and words, I needed some light relief: something clean, pleasant, fresh and wordless.
The idea had been around for seven years. It had been filed away until there was time to work on it. I think it originally came from seeing an old black and white strip cartoon in a children’s comic when I was evacuated in the war. I vaguely remember two snowmen coming to live and one of them clambering over a window sill into a house. Where the flying came from I cannot remember, but the idea seemed perfectly natural. Perhaps it is because snow lightly floats down out of the sky, so it seems reasonable that a snowman can lightly float up again.
Most of my ideas seem to be based on a simple premise: let’s assume that something imaginary – a snowman or a bogeyman – is wholly real, and then proceed logically from there. If a snowman came to live and was invited into a house, he would never have seen electric light, television or washing-up liquid. He would learn to avoid the fire and the radiators, but would love the refrigerator and freezer. It is just common sense and that is all there is to it.”
-Raymond Briggs
FEATURED ARTISTS
From conducting Broadway musicals in such venues as the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles to leading summer orchestral performances for thousands of concert-goers across Central New York, Travis understands and facilitates the important connection between audience members and orchestral musicians.
As a guest conductor with the Syracuse ...
From conducting Broadway musicals in such venues as the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles to leading summer orchestral performances for thousands of concert-goers across Central New York, Travis understands and facilitates the important connection between audience members and orchestral musicians.
As a guest conductor with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Symphoria, and The Syracuse Orchestra, Travis has led performances of a wide variety of repertoire, including Pops, Classical and Film music. He has also collaborated with well-known composers, including conducting the world premiere of Academy Award-nominated composer Patrick Doyle’s score for the silent film “IT” at the 2013 Syracuse International Film Festival.
Currently, Travis is Dean of the Carroll College of Arts and Sciences at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY, where he was the founding conductor of the Le Moyne College Symphony Orchestra. He studied violin performance and conducting at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and also holds an BMA from Le Moyne College and PH.D. in Arts Administration from the University of Kentucky.
