“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”

Carnegie Hall celebrates the holiday season with two special programs this December. On Friday, December 17 at 8:00 p.m.

Tony Award winner Laura Benanti joins The New York Pops and Music Director Steven Reineke offering a festive program of traditional carols and contemporary classics including “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” and “Winter Wonderland.” Special guests on the program include Benanti’s parents Linda Benanti and Martin Vidnovic as well as friends and collaborators Kate Mangiameli and Brandon Michael Nase.

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 for their annual Christmas Eve concert at Carnegie Hall. On Friday, December 24 at 7:00 p.m., the program features Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro; Mozart’s Divertimento in D Major, K. 136; Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings; and J. S. Bach’s Violin Concerto in A Minor, BWV 1041 featuring Venezuelan violinist Rubén Rengel (a current fellow of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect and winner of the Robert Frederick Smith Prize at the 2018 Sphinx Competition).

About Carnegie Hall

Since it opened in 1891, Carnegie Hall has set the international standard for musical excellence as the aspirational destination for the world’s finest artists. From Tchaikovsky, Dvorák, Mahler, and Bartók to George Gershwin, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Judy Garland, and The Beatles, music making by a long list of artists representing the best of every genre has filled Carnegie Hall over the years. The Hall’s unique history has grown out of its stunning acoustics, the beauty of its three concert halls, and its location in New York City, where it has played a central role in helping to elevate the city into one of the world’s great cultural capitals.

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 festivals featuring collaborations with leading NYC cultural institutions; orchestral performances, chamber music, new music concerts, and recitals; and the best in jazz, global, and popular music. Many concerts each season are heard by listeners worldwide via the Carnegie Hall Live radio and digital broadcast series, produced in partnership with WQXR, and select concerts have been webcast on medici.tv.

Complementing these performance activities, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute creates wide-reaching music education and social impact programs that annually serve more than 800,000 people in the New York City area, nationally, and internationally, and even more through growing initiatives online. These programs play a central role in delivering on Carnegie Hall’s commitment to making great music accessible to as many people as possible.

For more information about Carnegie Hall, please visit carnegiehall.org

Photo by Richard Termine