The annual Christmas Concert at St. John the Divine features J.S. Bach’s beloved Magnificat. Exuberant trumpets and timpani introduce this setting of the song of Mary, which was intended for use at major feast days, including Christmas. The triumphant brass, festive choruses, and dancing rhythms herald the arrival of the Christmas season. The angelic voices of the Cathedral Choristers will adorn the program with seasonal selections and the audience joins to sing in favorite Christmas Carols!
The Cathedral Choir, Chorale, and Choristers
Amy Justman, Jamet Pittman, and Michele Kennedy, sopranos
Katie Geissinger and Kirsten Sollek, mezzo-sopranos
Marc Day, tenor
Hans Tashjian, bass
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
Kent Tritle, conductor
This joyous holiday program features Vivaldi’s Magnificat, Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, and Saint‐Saëns’ exquisitely orchestrated Oratorio de Noël. The program will be adorned with holiday arrangements by Robert De Cormier and seasonal carols for the audience.
West Village Chorale
Orchestra of the West Village Chorale
Sarah Brailey, soprano http://sarahbrailey.com/calendar/
Kirsten Sollek, contralto
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
The faculty, students, and staff join together in the Union Theological Seminary Chapel for an informal sing thru of Handel’s Messiah.
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
Dig out your Santa hats and your Christmas sweaters, and warm up your Fa-la-la’s!
Come with us around the historic, Dickensian streets of our Village neighborhood singing everyone’s favorite holiday songs. Then come back to Judson for more caroling and refreshments by the piano!
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
**This event will conclude at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine**
Make Music Winter, first launched in 2011, is a free, outdoor musical event each December 21st that turns audiences into music makers. Inspired by Phil Kline’s annual Unsilent Night – the boombox parade that has become an international tradition – Make Music Winter transforms New York’s cityscape with twelve participatory musical parades on the winter solstice, running the gamut of musical genres.
Parade partners in 2014 included the Bronx Music Heritage Center, Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, Friends of the High Line, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Public Library, Prospect Park Alliance, El Puente, and many more. The full 2014 schedule is listed on the Make Music Winter page.
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
Malcolm joins the chorus of Musica Sacra as the institution returns to Carnegie Hall for its 77th performance of Handel’s Messiah.
Musica Sacra Chorus and Orchestra
Kathryn Lewek, Soprano
Christopher Ainslie, Countertenor
Mingjie Lei, Tenor
Matt Boehler, Bass
Kent Tritle, Music Director and Conductor
The Cathedral Choristers and the Trebles of the Cathedral Choir present a service of Nine Lessons and Carols. The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols was first celebrated at King’s College, Cambridge on Christmas Eve, 1918. It was an adaptation of a similar service that had been written for the cathedral at Truro in 1880.
The choir will sing music by Gregg Smith, Raymond Nagem, Malcolm J. Merriweather, Benjamin Britten, Larry Long, Peter Warlock, and John Rutter.
The Cathedral Choir, Chorale, and Choristers are join by orchestra for the moving Christmas Mass service. The service will feature Mozart’s Coronation Mass and other seasonal carols.
The Cathedral Choir, Orchestra, and Soloists are joined by guests Judy Collins, Jason Robert Brown, and host Harry Smith for this beloved Cathedral event, founded by Leonard Bernstein in 1984. The annual New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace has gathered old friends and new for more than a quarter of a century. This year we honor the legacy of Leonard Bernstein with a performance of his Chichester Psalms, a profound work that is sure to inspire a spirit of peace in the audience as we begin a New Year together, renewed in hope for the world we share.
Kent Tritle, conductor
Merriweather conducts the Division V Chorus for the Nassau County Music Educator Festival.
