By JESSICA A. BOTELHO
With a nine-show holiday tour that kicks off tonight at 8 p.m. at Stadium Theater in Woonsocket, R.I., the 11 members of Ornament, Southern New England’s premiere rock orchestra, are ready to get their fans in the spirit of the season. Performing the music of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, the band is touring in order to support several local organizations.
“This is our fifth tour and we’re hoping to make it the best and biggest one,” said Chris Nunes, who plays bass, sings, and produces for Ornament. “We hope everyone can come see us to help raise money for good causes. We use a small portion of the money to cover our expenses, but everything else goes to the charity.”
Nunes, who also works as Band Director at Westport Middle School and helps out with various musicals within the district, said Ornament will also be performing at Twin River Casio in Lincoln, R.I., at the Lighthouse Bar on Saturday, Nov. 27th at 8:30 p.m. Their third gig is at Westport High School on Friday, December 3rd at 7 p.m.
“It is to benefit the Westport Music Boosters Association,” he said. “We want to help raise money for music programs in local schools.”
The next night, Saturday, Dec. 4th at 7:30 p.m., they will take the stage at the Seaport Inn and Marina in Fairhaven, Mass.
“The Seaport Inn show will feature a toy drive with the Salvation Army,” Nunes said. “We’ll be at Keith Junior High School in New Bedford on December 10th at 7 p.m. to support the Veterans Transition House. On December 12th, our show is at Mansfield High School at 4 p.m. The money will go towards the Mansfield High School Youth Hockey league.”
While their Dec. 17th performance at the Whites of Westport in Westport, Mass., at 6:30 p.m. is a regular gig, The Plymouth Memorial Hall show on Dec. 18th at 7 p.m. will feature choral members from both Plymouth North and Plymouth South High Schools. Thirty to forty members will be in attendance.
“They will do a few numbers with us,” said Nunes. “Part of the proceeds will help restore the piano they use. We are going to be finishing up the tour at LaSalete Shrine Auditorium in Attleboro, Mass. on January 2nd at two in the afternoon.”
Since they toured last year, Nunes said Ornament has had a few line up changes. One of the new members includes violinist, A.J. Salvatore.
“For me, playing in this band is an opportunity to work with some really talented musicians,” said Nunes. “Not only are they very skilled, they are just dedicated to perfecting our craft. I don’t play out with any other bands because we rehearse year-round.”
Nunes said they each work hard to be authentic to the music. They are getting to the point where they are starting to be recognized in the area.
“People have told us that if they close their eyes, we sound just like the Trans-Siberian Orchestra,” he said. “That’s what we’re going for and I think that’s the biggest compliment we can get. People are getting to know what we do and we are finding a lot of new fans, as well.”
Every year, Ornament changes up the set list to keep their show both interesting for their faithful followers and exciting for people who are seeing them play for the first time. Nunes said the light show is completely different, too.
“We are up to 56 lights now,” said Nunes. “It’s fun to play this music. It’s the best of both worlds for me. I get beauty of the classical music with the power and energy of rock and roll and it just combines together to give the music something special.”
To find out more about Ornament and their upcoming tour, visit their website at www.ornamentband.com. Friend them on MySpace at www.myspace.com/ornamenttso and find them on Facebook by searching for Ornament Fan Club.
Limelight Magazine 