The Portland Symphony Orchestra will sell its remaining stock of tickets to "Magic of Christmas" for $25, the orchestra announced Monday.

The orchestra received an anonymous gift, enabling it to drop ticket prices for the approximately 4,000 tickets still available for the remaining eight "Magic" concerts at Merrill Auditorium.

Merrill seats about 1,800 people.

Tickets originally cost between $25 and $55.

The gift was in direct response to the current recession, said Gordon Gayer, president of the orchestra's board of trustees.

"This generous donation allows us to continue our efforts to make 'Magic of Christmas,' and all our concerts, as accessible as possible to our entire community," Gayer said in a statement.

"With this donation, we are able to do that, while still ensuring income that is so critical to the PSO's survival. During this time when people are so concerned about the economy, now everyone has an opportunity to come and experience the gift of great music and holiday cheer."

Tickets to all shows are available through PortTix, the box office at Merrill Auditorium.

Bruce Hangen, who helped launch "Magic of Christmas" 29 years ago, is conducting this year's concerts.

Remaining concert times are 2 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday.

For tickets call 842-0800 or visit www.porttix.com.

The Portland Symphony Orchestra has joined the Black Friday frenzy.

From noon to 6 p.m. Friday, all tickets for one performance of the PSO's "Magic of Christmas" will cost $25. The discounted show will be the 7:30 p.m. performance Dec. 19, at Merrill Auditorium.

Regular tickets prices range from $25 to $60.

The discounted tickets may be purchased online at PortTix.com, by phone at (207) 842-0800, or at the Merrill Auditorium box office at 20 Myrtle St. in Portland. Phone and internet orders also will incur a $2 handling fee.

People who have previously bought tickets for the performance are out of luck. The special price does not apply to previous purchases and cannot be combined with any other discounts or offers, according to the orchesta.

The orchestra will present the annual holiday concert Dec. 12-21.

The smile sealed the deal.

During a quiet moment of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 at Merrill Auditorium on Monday night, Robert Moody turned at his waist and learned in toward first violinist Charles Dimmick. With his eyes closed and left arm outstretched, Moody allowed a broad smile to cross his face as the music rolled over him.

We think of Mahler’s first symphony as a monumental, loud and energetic piece of music. But when played well, it’s the quiet moments that resonate.

The Portland Symphony Orchestra played it well and with great sensitivity during Monday’s Podium Prelude concert, which served as a formal introduction of Moody to the community. Moody and the orchestra repeat Mahler’s first tonight in the final Tuesday Classical concert of the season.

Among those in attendance last night was Henry Fogel, president of the League of American Orchestras. For Fogel, it was the quiet moments that caught his attention.

“What I heard was an orchestra listening to itself,” he said.

Fogel has been a frequent visitor to Portland, since the PSO began searches for both a new music director and executive director. Now that Moody and Ari Solotoff are firmly in place as the orchestra’s new leaders – Moody as music director and Solotoff as executive director – Fogel wanted to return to Portland to celebrate Moody’s debut.

He praised the PSO’s board of trustees for its leadership during the search, and for holding the orchestra together during what could have been a time of crisis.

The next challenge for the orchestra, he said, is firming up the endowment. The current endowment stands at about $3 million, which is about the same as the orchestra’s annual budget. Ideally, the endowment should be three to five times the annual budget.

“This is the perfect time for an endowment campaign,” Fogel said. “You’ve got excitement building about the music director, and you have an executive director who will make himself a presence in the community.”

While the orchestra has not formally begun an endowment campaign, it has begun the conversation, Solotoff said. Soprano Renee Fleming will join the orchestra Feb. 17, 2009, for a concert that benefits the endowment fund.