Carnegie Hall Celebrates The Holiday Season With Festive Concerts This December

Carnegie Hall celebrates the holiday season with a variety of festive concerts this December. On Friday, December 21 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, December 22 at 8:00 p.m., Broadway's original Mary Poppins Ashley Brown rings in the holiday season with The New York Pops and Music Director Steven Reineke with Essential Voices USA offering two evenings of classic and contemporary carols including "Deck the Halls," "Winter Wonderland," and "I'll Be Home for Christmas."

The New York String Orchestra, an ensemble of remarkable young players from around the world who come together each December for a seminar of rehearsals and performance preparation, is conducted by Jaime Laredo, who is celebrating 25 years with the orchestra, in their annual pair of year-end concerts celebrating the orchestra's 50th anniversary. On Monday, December 24 at 7:00 p.m., the program features Mendelssohn's The Hebrides Overture; Vivaldi's Concerto for Four Violins and Orchestra in B Minor, Op. 3, No. 10, featuring Jinjoo Cho, Pamela Frank, Bella Hristova, Kyoko Takezawa; and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4, with Yefim Bronfman. On Friday, December 28 at 8:00 p.m., the Orchestra returns with Joshua Bell playing Brahms's Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77, on a program that also includes Walker's Lyric for Strings and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, "Pathétique." Also part of the 50th anniversary celebration, on December 28, notable alumni-including concertmasters and principals of outstanding orchestras from Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Chicago - and guest conductor Karina Canellakis-return to perform side-by-side with the outstanding young musicians.

About Carnegie Hall
Since 1891, Carnegie Hall has set the international standard for excellence in performance. Its walls have echoed with applause for the world's outstanding classical music artists as they have for the greatest popular musicians and many prominent dancers, authors, comedians, social crusaders, and world figures who have appeared on its stages.

Carnegie Hall presents a wide range of performances each season on its three stages-the renowned Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, intimate Weill Recital Hall, and innovative Zankel Hall-including concert series curated by acclaimed artists and composers; citywide arts festivals featuring collaborations with leading New York City cultural institutions; orchestral performances, chamber music, new music concerts, and recitals; and the best in jazz, world, and popular music. Complementing these performance activities, Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute creates extensive music education and social impact programs that annually serve more than 600,000 people in the New York City area, nationally, and internationally, playing a central role in Carnegie Hall's commitment to making great music accessible to as many people as possible. For more information, visit carnegiehall.org.

Photo by Richard Termine