A rising star highlights Palos Verdes Symphonic Band’s Christmas concert.

A narration of “The Night Before Christmas” by a local rising star promises to be a highlight of Sunday afternoon’s annual holiday concert by the Palos Verdes Symphonic Band at the Norris Theatre.

A program of familiar and not-so-familiar holiday music offers something for a variety of tastes, from carols to classical. The audience also will be invited to join the band for a medley of traditional carols.

The 55-member community band, under the direction of Richard Schwalbe, will perform for its 30th season in 1992. About half the musicians live in Palos Verdes; the rest are scattered throughout the South Bay and the Greater Los Angeles area.

“We’re all volunteers, so we do it all for love,” said Schwalbe, who has guided the band for 18 years.

Karenjo Goodwin, a young actress and musician, will narrate “The Night Before Christmas,” accompanied by the band.

“My roots are in Palos Verdes,” Goodwin said. “This is kind of a return home for me.”

Her father’s rendition of the Christmas Eve story was an annual tradition in their home, she added.

Bob Hope recently selected Goodwin as one of his “stars of tomorrow” and she appeared on the comedian’s fall comedy special. Her film credits include roles in “Lethal Weapon” and “The Karate Kid.” She has performed on television in “Remington Steele” and the daytime drama “The Young and the Restless.” Goodwin also just finished a theatrical production of “The Music Man” in Downey.

After the band plays several traditional holiday selections, Goodwin will tell the story of St. Nicholas. Clement Clarke Moore wrote “The Night Before Christmas” in 1822 as a Christmas gift for his six children. Goodwin said she listened to several recordings of the story to prepare for her performance and “tried to remember what parts of the story were most exciting to me as a child.”

Goodwin will also lead the audience in the sing-along of Christmas carols.

The program, which will begin at 2 p.m., features performances of Karl Bohm’s “Still wie die Nacht”; Mel Torme’s “Christmas Song”; Christmas carols from Appalachia and Europe; “Greenwillow Christmas,” arranged by Ted Marcus, a member of the band; Gabrieli’s Canzone No. 4; “Canadian Brass Christmas”; “Deck The Halls Fugue”; “Sleigh Ride,” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

Most of the band’s musicians are amateurs, said Schwalbe, who is a teacher and former band director at Leuzinger High School in Lawndale. Their dedication and diligence impress him, he said. The band practices once a week but, “If they know we have a challenging concert, they take the music home and practice,” Schwalbe said.

The practice has paid off. In 1989, the band was one of only six in the United States invited to perform at the annual convention of the Assn. of Concert Bands, said Joe Siegel, the band’s publicity chairman and one of its saxophonists for the past 13 years.

The band’s only alto clarinet player has been a member for 15 years, which is not long compared with his entire musical career. Tobe Heaton, 81, a resident of Rancho Palos Verdes, began playing the alto clarinet and the alto saxophone 60 years ago. The retired Air Force lieutenant colonel also plays the harmonica and the saw when he visits hospitals and rest homes as a member of the Rolling Hills Methodist Church’s Clown Ministry.

Heaton said the nonprofit band is “a pretty good outfit.” He just likes to play for the fun of it, he said.

“You have to keep your hands light, shake them out. It’s not the age; it’s the mileage,” he said.

What: Palos Verdes Symphonic Band’s holiday concert.

Where: Norris Theatre, 27570 Crossfield Drive, Rolling Hills Estates.

When: Sunday, 2 p.m.

Admission: $8 adults and $4 children.

Information: Norris Theatre, (310) 544-0403.