Former NBC4 anchor Cabot Rea performing with Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra

Audience members may recognize a familiar face when the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra performs its annual holiday concert Sunday, Dec. 5.

Former NBC4 WCMH-TV anchor Cabot Rea is a featured vocalist during this year's show, "A Very Merry Holiday Pops" at the Midland Theatre.

Before his 30-year career in television, Rea graduated from Otterbein University with a degree in music education in 1978 and spent nine years as a music teacher at Newark City Schools' Wilson Middle School, which was then called Wilson Junior High.

"It always kind of feels like coming home a bit because I have so many great memories of my years there, my nine years there in Newark," Rea said.

Since retiring from NBC4 in 2015, Rea has returned to music, which he described as his "first love."

"Sometimes in retirement, you know you have to kind of reinvent yourself a little bit because your days are very different than they used to be," Rea said.

In his nearly six years of retirement, Rea has played lead roles in central Ohio productions of "South Pacific," "My Fair Lady," "The Fantasticks" and "Kiss Me Kate." Most recently, Rea performed with the Springfield Symphony during "The Pirates of Penzance" on Nov. 13.

Rea said it's special to return to an area he and his wife, Heather, called home for so long and where two of their three children were born.

"It’s going to be a nice thing. I’m sure with the mask mandates and all that goes with that, it’s just nice to be together again," he said. "I’m looking forward to it."

The symphony orchestra will also have another special guest for the performance. Douglas Droste, a teacher and director of orchestras at Ball State University in Indiana, will be the guest conductor for the show.

An Ohio native, Droste's previous guest conducting appearances include the INSO-Lviv Symphony Orchestra in Ukraine, and the orchestras of Kansas City, Indianapolis, Columbus, Oklahoma City, Tulsa and others.

He said he was honored to be invited as a guest conductor and it will be special to perform in front of family and friends.

"It’s a joy to come back home," he said.

Droste said he also excited to work with Rea for this one-night only show.

"I grew up watching him on TV, so it’ll be a joy to work with him," Droste said.

mdevito@gannett.com

740-607-2175

Twitter: @MariaDeVito13

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Cabot Rea performing with Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra