The Washington Chorus Will Perform 16th Annual A Candlelight Christmas
Performances are on select dates between December 13 and 22.
By: Stephi Wild Nov. 24, 2025
The Washington Chorus will present its annual performance of A Candlelight Christmas at both The Music Center at Strathmore (5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD) and Kennedy Center Concert Hall (2700 F St NW, Washington, D.C.) on select dates between December 13 and 22.
Conducted by TWC Artistic Director Eugene Rogers, the concert features guest jazz pianist Rod Vester, National Capital Brass and Percussion, organists Marvin Mills (Dec. 13–14) and Paul Byssainthe, Jr. (Dec. 20–22), as well as an expanded Side-by-Side education program. This year’s featured youth groups are DMV Music Academy, Annandale High School (Dec. 13–14), and Detroit School of the Arts (Dec. 20–22).
“We’re so excited to be returning for our 16th year of A Candlelight Christmas,” said Artistic Director Rogers. “As always, we will have audience favorites like ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ and ‘The Dream Isaiah Saw,’ but we’ll also have new works, like Gavin Tomasco’s brand new setting of ‘The Bells’ by Edgar Allan Poe, and our new interactive number, the ‘North Pole Jam.’ We love to keep our audiences on their toes!”
A Candlelight Christmas has become known for ringing in the holiday season with joy, spirit, and togetherness. Between the full 200-voice chorus, brass, organ, magical lights, and extra special holiday guests, this family-friendly concert always celebrates the pervasive hope of the holidays for a better, kinder world.
TWC highlights a different guest soloist at each year’s Candlelight, who performs their own compositions, as well as leads the chorus in an interactive performance. This year’s featured performer is jazz pianist Rod Vester, will perform jazz variations on several well-loved Christmas songs and then lead the chorus in “The Sounds of Christmas” from his 2024 Christmas LP Joy to the World.
“We’re particularly excited to bring back jazz pianist Rod Vester, who was so popular in our 2022 performance that we had to bring him back,” said Artistic Director Rogers.
In addition, this year’s performance features three fantastic youth organizations as part of TWC’s Side-by-Side high school education program. Director Don John’s DMV Music Academy will join as percussionists for “Little Drummer Boy” at each performance. Then Annandale High School, directed by Patrick Vaughn, will perform alongside TWC for the December 13 and 14 performances. Lastly, the Detroit School of the Arts, directed by Julian Goods, joins TWC for performances between December 20 and 22. This year marks the first year TWC is featuring an out-of-town ensemble with the Detroit School of the Arts, who will travel to DC as part of a performance tour.
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