WANT TO GO?

"Home for the Holidays"

West Virginia Symphony Orchestra

WHERE: Clay Center

WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday

TICKETS: Adults $12 to $64, students $10 to $52

INFO: 304-561-3570 or www.theclaycenter.org

Giggling over the phone from her home in Ohio, the principal flutist for the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra announced, "I am officially a Christmas freak!"

That makes her the perfect fit as the featured soloists for the symphony's "Home for the Holidays" concerts at the Clay Center this weekend. The two shows are part of a select number the Virginia native will play in December.

"I shut everything down in December," she said. "I shut everything down pretty much that isn't Christmas related."

Through the holidays, Goodman said she sticks to teaching and a few holiday concerts here and there. It leaves her more time to enjoy the Christmas season.

By now, of course, Goodman and her husband have decorated their home inside and out, and their house is awash in garlands, red velvet bows and white lights.

"Nearly every surface of my house is decorated," she said. "But I'm a traditionalist -- except for the bathroom, which has been taken over by snowmen."

Everything is tasteful, she said. Well, mostly.

"We're parents to a very lovable Bichon dog," she said. "We have a lot of Bichon dog ornaments, which might be tacky, but that's our child."

Meanwhile, Goodman is very much ahead of the curve for the holidays. She finished her Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving and already had her Christmas cards ready to go. The only major chore she had left was some holiday backing.

"I make about 40 dozen Christmas cookies," she said.

She also knows what she wants for Christmas. In the event Santa or her husband would read this article, Goodman said she's hoping for a new iPod for Christmas. The old one is about full.

"I have approximately seven days worth of music on my computer," she said. "I need a 160 gigabyte iPod Classic, something with a lot of memory. Some of the songs I have are an hour long. They're Mahler symphonies."

Goodman said she and her husband's love of Christmas goes way back to when they were growing up. Both of their families, she explained, made a big deal about the holiday. However, Goodman thought she might be taking it a little further than her parents did, partly because she's not home much.

"I've very, very busy most of the year," Goodman explained. "I'm on the road as a professional musician. That doesn't afford me a lot of 'nesting time' as I like, so I throw all of my nesting into one month."

The flutist loves Christmas concerts and Christmas music, though she acknowledged that her own tastes run toward the darker holiday material. She likes carols like the ominous sounding "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent" and the solemn "O Come, O Come, Emanuel."

"I like songs that have a little bit of darkness in them, which help us to appreciate light more," she said. "But of course, I should say that my favorite Christmas song is the one I'm going to perform."

Among the songs, she'll be performing at this weekend's concert is a special arrangement of the African-American spiritual, "Go Tell It on the Mountain."

She also promised some surprises in store but didn't elaborate.

"I don't think Grant [Cooper] would like it if I gave them away."

Reach Bill Lynch at ly...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5195.