While waiting in line at the restroom during intermission at the Bangor Symphony Orchestra’s “Spirit of Bangor” holiday extravaganza last Saturday afternoon, I had a very diverse group of people surrounding me. I was behind a 12-year-old girl from the Bangor Area Children’s Choir, in front of a bell ringer in choir robes, and I watched a ballet dancer in her “coffee from Arabia” getup from the Robinson Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” run through the hallways of the Bangor Auditorium.

The sheer volume of performers present at the two concerts this weekend meant that the “Spirit of Bangor” offered a wealth of homegrown talent not seen on one stage in this town, well, ever. Maestro Xiao-Lu Li and master of ceremonies Suzanne Nance of Maine Public Broadcasting Network led a who’s who of youth, community and professional music and dance organizations through a program of religious and popular Christmas music.

For groups like the Bangor Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Bangor Area Children’s Choir, this meant a chance to perform in front of the largest crowds of their young careers. The youth groups stepped up to the challenge, presenting two of the highlights of the show. The BSYO and the BACC gave an absolutely lovely rendition of Cesar Franck’s “Panis Angelicus,” while the BSYO Symphonic Band brought some big-band energy into the auditorium with a fun, toe-tapping medley of Christmas songs, propelled by an excellent rhythm section made up of Nick Pappas, Sarah Johnson, Keegan Howie and Soloman Krevans. At the end of the first half the BSO and the choir of more than 400 members performed a stirring “What Child Is This?” as part of the second of the “Many Moods of Christmas” suites.

The Robinson Ballet broke up the sometimes repetitive array of carols and pop songs presented by the various groups (I counted three renditions of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and two each of “Silent Night” and “Jingle Bells”) with two selections from “The Nutcracker.” It’s not hard to see why the annual ballet remains such an entrenched part of the holidays in eastern Maine – it’s bright, colorful and familiar, and it’s always gratifying to see young, talented people from our community show off their abilities.

Indeed, “Spirit of Bangor” succeeded as a Christmas kickoff concert because of the young people present, from the Children’s Choir to the wonderful, energetic, cape-and-T-shirt-clad Planet Pan Steel Drum Band. There was schmaltz to be had, sure, but what’s Christmas without a little schmaltz? Kudos must also be given to whomever had the idea for the “Hallelujah” singalong. Despite the fact that only maybe a third of the crowd actually sang along with the selection from Handel’s “Messiah,” it was a welcome, lighthearted end to the show.

It is worth noting, however, the conspicuous lack of representation of any other religious traditions besides Christianity. If the concert was called “Spirit of Christmas” or “Christmas in Bangor,” I could perhaps understand why the program was geared so heavily toward Christian-themed music. As it was, despite there being a large Jewish population in this city, and taking place just a few days before the start of Hanukkah, the concert made no mention of Jewish holiday traditions, or of any other faith. The “Spirit of Bangor” should have been more inclusive.