New Haven, CT (November 8, 2013): The New Haven Symphony Orchestra (NHSO) brings Christmas cheer to New Haven with a festive Holiday Brass concert on Sunday, December 8 at 6:00pm at Christ Church. The Christ Church Choir will join the NHSO Brass Quintet for a concert of secular and sacred holiday favorites. In the spirit of the season, proceeds from the concert will benefit the Community Soup Kitchen, a non-profit organization committed to providing free, nutritious meals to underprivileged individuals, located at Christ Church in downtown New Haven.
The NHSO Brass Quintet (Ken Tedeschi, trumpet, Rich Clymer, trumpet, Scott Cranston, trombone, Philip Browne, horn, and Adam Crowe, tuba) have crafted a program of their favorite holiday tunes to perform with narrator Ruben Ortiz and the Christ Church Choir. Audiences will want to sing along to such familiar tunes as “Silent Night,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and “White Christmas” and will be treated to traditional pieces such as “Sleigh Ride,” choruses from Handel’s Messiah, and a reading from Dylan Thomas’s “A Child’s Christmas in Wales.”
The Christ Church Choir, conducted by Dr. Nathaniel Adam, is a fully-professional chamber ensemble that supports weekly worship at historic Christ Church through the singing of Solemn Mass and the Office of Compline. The Choir specializes in the polyphony of the early Renaissance and Baroque eras, music of the Anglo-Catholic tradition from the 19th and 20th centuries, and is committed to performing new works in the repertoire. The Church’s music library contains choral works dedicated to the ensemble by several 20th and 21st century composers, including Horatio Parker, the first conductor of the New Haven Symphony. In 2012, the Choir sang Handel’s Messiah with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra as a fundraising event for the Community Soup Kitchen, to great acclaim.
Prior to the December 8 concert, the public is invited to visit the Community Soup Kitchen for a fundraising reception beginning at 4:00pm. Enjoy delicious hors d’oeuvres, desserts, open wine bar, and premium seating at the concert, all for $60. This collaborative event is coordinated by a dedicated team of volunteers who are honored to continue the tradition of community partnership and performance in support of the Community Soup Kitchen.
The NHSO will be recognized with the Annual Award for Commitment at the Soup Kitchen’s Annual Meeting on November 14. Governor Dannel P. Malloy acknowledged that “a group like the New Haven Symphony helps to foster a sense of unity. Music is a universal language and one that has the unique ability to bring together groups of all diversities and backgrounds in celebration. I am confident that the New Haven Symphony’s efforts this past year have helped make all of the Community Soup Kitchen’s accomplishments a reality.”
Tickets ($30-$45, $60 for both reception and concert) can be purchased through the NHSO Box Office at 203.865.0831 x10 or www.NewHavenSymphony.org. Student tickets are always $10; KidTix (ages 6-17) are free with a paying adult. Blue Star tickets are free for the families of active duty military.
Repeat performances featuring a full program by the NHSO Brass Quintet will take place on December 1 at Essex Meadows (www.EssexMeadows.com), December 7 at Elim Park’s Nelson Hall (www.NelsonHallElimPark.org) and December 22 at Infinity Hall (www.InfinityHall.com).
