BUTLER TWP — Neither snow nor sleet nor gloom of night prevented the Butler Symphony Orchestra from delivering holiday cheer Saturday evening at the Butler Intermediate High School Auditorium.

But the bad weather did discourage many people from attending the event.

Although titled “Holiday Traditions,” the concert veered away from the expected and offered up the innovative instead.

Opening with a new spin on an old standard, Maestro Matthew Kraemer led the orchestra in a delightful rendition of Deck the Halls as arranged by Carmen Dragon and with the aid of the excellent Slippery Rock University Concert Choir. At times exuberant and later pensive, the familiar favorite took on new sparkle.

Next the orchestra played “Sleigh Ride” by Sergei Prokofiev. The brisk tempo was set by the percussion section and strings but the sleigh strayed onto a bumpy road and nearly faltered before getting on the right track again. Still, the happy melody conveyed the pleasure of a trot through the drifts in winter.

Again the SRU Choir added its special magic to interpreting Christmas Day with an arrangement of familiar carols by Gustav Holst. The intricate medley of “Good Christian Men Rejoice,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “The First Noel,” and the less familiar “Come Ye Lofty, Come Ye Lowly” was beautifully performed by the choir with the orchestra providing lovely accompaniment.

As a special treat, the choir sang “Nowell,” an original piece both written and conducted by SRU music director Stephen Barr. The work had a delicate theme that is almost melancholy but evolved to a more joyful reiteration toward the finale. Three solo instruments were the only accompaniment: Piano played by Ingrid Buete, violin by concert master Tanya Satteson, and cello played by Jun Zhang.

The work has the quality to become a part of standard holiday repertoire.

Closing the first half of the concert was “Concerto No. 4 for Horn and Orchestra” by Wolfgang Mozart.

The three movement piece featured the return of Seneca Valley High School graduate artist Elizabeth Matchett Feimuth, who is the principal horn player in the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops orchestras. Freimuth’s playing was as vibrant as her scarlet gown in the Allegro moderato section. The Romanza, Andante second movement was lyrical and demanding but well played.

The final Rondo, Allegro vivace movement is bounced along joyfully as Freimuth played it admirably with clear bright tones and clean attacks.

Warming the cold night was “Brazilian Sleigh Bells” by Percy Faith. The piece was fun and quirky, bringing to mind images of Carmen Miranda dancing with a Christmas tree hat. The perky Latin beat was handled well by the orchestra.

Robert Wendell’s arrangement of “Carol of the Bells” was wonderful. The same old song became something new as it progressed from a quiet opening by the percussion section and grew in intensity to a dramatic conclusion.

Giving a nod to the recently completed celebration of Hanukkah, was Lucas Richman’s “Hanukkah Festival Overture.” The opening cadenza heralded the joyful “Hanukkah, O Hanukkah,” a dance rhythm that swirled and spun with increasing speed then abruptly devolved into the more pensive Mi Yimalel melody.

The playful “Dreidel Song” and moments of klezmer made appearances in solos by trumpeter Josh Boudreau, clarinetist Richard Diefendorfer and, again, Tanya Satteson on violin. “O Holy Night” by Adolphe Adam was exquisitely sung by the SRU chorus and followed by Irving Berlin’s wistful “White Christmas.”

Looking ahead to the New Year was Victor Herbert’s sparkling “Royal Sec” polka which fizzed like the champagne it evoked. The orchestra bubbled with fun as it popped musical corks and tinged musical champagne flutes to salute 2014. It is a work that deserves to be heard more often and was delightfully performed. The audience got in the act with the annual singalong and there was an encore with Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride,” ending the concert with a whip crack of happiness.