The Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra will be joined by the Symphony Chorus and the orchestra's 2011 Youth Concerto Competition winner, Annie Bender, for the "Celebrate the Season" concert at 8 p.m. Dec. 5.

The concert, under the baton of guest conductor Teddy Abrams, is part of the new Light Classics series and will be held at First Presbyterian Church on Hilton Head Island. Wolfgang Mozart's "Sleigh Ride", George Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" and selections from Peter Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" are among the program's highlights. The evening will conclude with the audience joining the orchestra, chorus and violin soloist in "Silent Night."

Abrams performs as a conductor, clarinetist and pianist in addition to composing. The 2010-11 season marks his third as conducting fellow of the New World Symphony. Abrams studied conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Aspen Music Festival -- the youngest conducting student ever accepted at both institutions.

Annie Bender, 17, already has appeared as guest soloist with multiple orchestras, including those in her hometown. She has taken first place in the Curb Records Concerto Competition with the Nashville Symphony, the Paducah Symphony Young Artists Concerto Competition, the Curb Youth Symphony Concerto Competition, and in 2011 placed first in the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra Youth Concerto Competition. At "Celebrate the Season," she'll play the first movement of Mozart's fifth violin concerto, often nicknamed "Turkish" because of the evocations of rustic dancing and Turkish marches in the last movement.

Tickets for "Celebrate" are $20, $30 and $40. Details: 843-842-2055, www.hhso.org