Post-Thanksgiving, the winter holiday season officially begins! Grab your calendar and tune in for WFMT’s recommendations for the best choral concerts, a shortlist of chances to experience Handel’s Messiah and Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, and annual favorites like A Chanticleer Christmas and CSO’s Merry, Merry Chicago!
Recommended Events:
St. Charles Singers
Candlelight Carols
December 2—4
William Ferris Chorale
Spiraling Ecstatically
December 2 & 3
Chicago a cappella
Holidays a cappella
Hanukkah a cappella
December 4—18
A Chanticleer Christmas
December 6 & 7
Bella Voce
Holiday Delights
December 9—10
A Chicago Chorale Christmas
December 10 & 11
Chicago Chamber Choir
A Christmas Carol
December 10 & 11
Newberry Consort and EnsAmble Ad-Hoc
A Mexican Christmas
December 9—11
Christmas with Vox Venti
December 10
Chicago Master Singers
Christus Natus Est
December 10 & 11
The Lira Ensemble
Polish Carols & American, too
December 11 & 18, January 8
Chicago Choral Artists
Emerging Life, Excelling Light
December 17 & 18
Joffrey Ballet
The Nutcracker
December 3—27
Nichols Concert Hall
“Duke It Out!” Nutcracker
December 10
Chicago Symphony Chorus and Orchestra
Merry, Merry Chicago!
December 16—23
Rockefeller Memorial Chapel
Messiah
December 4
Apollo’s Fire
Messiah
December 9
Apollo Chorus of Chicago
Messiah
December 10 & 11
Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra
Messiah
December 17
Classical Music Chicago
Do-It-Yourself Messiah
December 18
Rembrandt Chamber Musicians
Holiday Baroque
December 2 & 4
Music of the Baroque
Holiday Brass & Choral Concerts
December 15—18
Civic Orchestra of Chicago
Bach Marathon Finale: Brandenburg Concertos
December 5
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
Brandenburg Concertos
December 14
Celtic Woman
A Christmas Symphony
December 11
Music Theater Works
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas
December 15—January 1
Playlist
John Rutter: Donkey Carol
St. Charles Singers; Metropolis Chamber Orchestra; Jeffrey Hunt, conductor
Eric Whitacre: Lux Aurumque
William Ferris Chorale; Paul French, conductor
Chaim Parchi arr. Joshua Jacobson: Aleih Neiri
Chicago a cappella
Veljo Tormis: Jõulud tulevad
Bella Voce; Andrew Lewis, conductor
Gunnar Eriksson: Kristallen den fina
Chicago Chorale; Bruce Tammen, conductor
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck: Hodie Christus natus est
Chicago Chamber Choir; Christopher Windle, conductor
Gerónimo González: Serenísima una noche
Newberry Consort; EnsAmble Ad-Hoc
Ken Burton: Many Are the Wonders
ORA; Suzi Digby, conductor
Traditional, arr. Sir David Willcox: O Come, All Ye Faithful
Chicago Master Singers; Alan Heatherington, conductor
Traditional Polish: Lulajże Jezuniu
Judith Partipilo Marth, soprano; The Lira Ensemble
Johann Sebastian Bach: “Jauchzet, frohlocket” from Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248
Chicago Choral Artists; Michael D. Costello, conductor
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, arr. Stewart Goodyear: March from The Nutcracker
Stewart Goodyear, piano
Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn: Overture and Dance of the Floreadores from The Nutcracker Suite
Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra; Stilian Kirov, conductor
Johann Strauss, Sr: Radetsky March
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Daniel Barenboim. conductor
George Frideric Handel: The Angel’s Announcement from Messiah
Amanda Forsythe, soprano; Apollo’s Fire; Jeannette Sorrell, conductor
G.F. Handel: “Hallelujah!” from Messiah
Apollo Chorus of Chicago; Stephen Alltop, conductor
G.F. Handel: Finale from Concerto Grosso in G Major, Op.6. No. 1
Rembrandt Chamber Musicians
Giovanni Gabrieli: Angelus ad pastores ait
Music of the Baroque; Edward Zelnis, conductor
J. S. Bach: Allegro assai from Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major, BWV 1047
David Washburn, piccolo trumpet; Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
Leroy Anderson: Sleigh Ride
Celtic Woman
Irving Berlin: White Christmas
Tanglewood Festival Chorus; Boston Pops Orchestra; John Williams
