Mannheim Steamroller Christmas coming to Duluth

Roxanne Layton of Mannheim Steamroller

(Courtesy Mannheim Steamroller)

DULUTH, Min. – Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis is back in Duluth.  The holiday tradition for 4-decades features their distinctive Mannheim sound.

They’ll be playing Wednesday, December 17 at 7:00pm in the DECC Symphony Hall.

FOX21 talked to Roxanne Layton, who plays percussion and recorder for the band.

She’s very proud their sound and the whole show experience.  People with varying musical tastes call all find inspiration from the music, “It’s really hard to explain how we sound. Some people say 18th century rock and roll. We have an orchestra. We have early music instruments, but then we have synthesizers, We have drums. I play electronic drums. I play timpani. So we have a mixture of acoustic, electronic to really wonderful texture.”

They play many Christmas standards, but with twists and special surprises.  Layton says Mannheim Steamroller’s founder, composer, and arranger Chip Davis makes the songs have unexpected moments, “He’s a great writer and also witty. The phrase will be the same, and you’re, ‘oh yeah. oh wait, no, he changed it on the third on the third measure’. So yeah, and drummer boy, he changes it three times  – the theme.  It’s fun. It keeps you on your toes, and it’s great.”

Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Logo

Those moments can also give emotion to people who have been playing the songs for years.  “There’s a song that I am still so moved by. I mean, I’ve been with Mannheim Steamroller for 30-years. I’ve played this song so many times, O Holy Night, and there’s this part with the French Horn that comes in. [I get] a tear. Still, it moves me so much. I have a tear going down [my cheek] every night. And for that to happen means that the it’s pretty amazing.”

Mannheim Steamroller tours the country in the holiday season, “Two months out of the year. We’re the busiest touring company out there at this time of year. And it’s wonderful. We bring music to we bring music to people.”

Layton is often called an Ambassador of the Recorder.  She’s a multi instrumentalist, and graduated from New England Conservatory with Honors in Recorder Performance.

Roxanne has played with the Indigo Girls , John Williams and the Boston Pops, and with British Songwriter Zoe Lewis.  She has opened for Judy Collins and K.D. Lang.  Her Albums are Kalm Heart and The Sound of Christmas Winds.