McGRATHPR.com – The holiday season inspires the finest arts, entertainment and cultural opportunities in the Boston, South Shore and Cape Cod regions.
Holiday Season 2019 Events and Entertainment
South Shore Conservatory
Coffee Break Concert Series
Casual, ‘come as you are’ atmosphere, free morning performances, complimentary refreshments and snacks. After the performance, stay and meet the performers.
Contact Beth MacLeod Largent at 781-421-6162, ext. 204 or b.macleodlargent@sscmusic.org for more information
SSC’s Coffee Break Concert Series presents Triple Trouble
Tuesday, November 26, 11 am
South Shore Conservatory, 64 St. George Street, Duxbury
Admission is free
South Shore Conservatory’s (SSC) Coffee Break Concert Series presents Triple Trouble, featuring Sarah Troxler, piano, Don Zook, flute and Mary Ciconetti, oboe. Sponsored by The Village at Duxbury.
Coffee Break Concert Series presents Staff Songbirds sing Holiday Favorites
Tuesday, December 10, 11 am
South Shore Conservatory, 64 St. George Street, Duxbury
Admission is free
South Shore Conservatory’s Coffee Break Concert Series presents Staff Songbirds Sing Holiday Favorites, featuring the vocal talents of Senior Director of Community Engagement Anne Smith-White, Director of Performance Beth MacLeod Largent and Student Experience Assistance Brooke McLaughlin. Sponsored by The Village at Duxbury.
Coffee Break Concert Series presents Holiday Favorites with Sarah Troxler
Wednesday, December 11, 11 am
Laura’s Center for the Arts, 97 Mill Street, Hanover
Admission is free
South Shore Conservatory’s Coffee Break Concert Series presents Holiday Favorites with Sarah Troxler, featuring songs of the season. Pianist Sarah Troxler is joined by other SSC faculty musicians to present old favorites and new treasures! This performance is perfect for families. Underwritten by Diane and Gary Glick.
SSC Community Voices Holiday Concert
Wednesday, December 11, 7 pm
South Shore Conservatory, 64 St. George Street, Duxbury
Admission is free
South Shore Conservatory’s inclusive chorus designed for singers of all abilities, presents a joyous concert featuring seasonal songs. Conductors Amanda Reopell, MT-BC, Jocelyn Khoo, MT-BC, with music therapy intern Lauren Kaufman.
SSC Community Voices Too! Holiday Concert
Wednesday, December 11, 7 pm
Laura’s Center for the Arts, 97 Mill Street, Hanover
Admission is free
South Shore Conservatory’s inclusive chorus designed for singers of all abilities, presents a joyous concert featuring seasonal songs. Conductors Kari O’Briant, MT-BC and Jennifer Pearl.
Middle School Monster Jam
Friday, January 10, 7 to 9 pm
South Shore Conservatory, One Conservatory Drive, Hingham
Admission: $10
Musicians, grades six through eight are invited to rock out with their friends at South Shore Conservatory’s Monster Jam! All musicians – horns, winds, strings, rhythm and voice – experience break-out coaching sessions with SSC instructors to learn the tune, which is chosen by the SSC coaches. Parents return at the end of the night for the all-instrument Monster Jam. Performers should bring their own instruments. (Drum kits and sound system provided).
Chase Away the Winter Blues
Saturday, January 25, 6 pm, After Party begins at 9 pm
Boston Marriot Quincy, 1000 Marriot Drive, Quincy
Tickets: Gala (includes After Party) $275, After Party-only tickets, $100
South Shore Conservatory kicks off its year-long 50th anniversary celebration. The festive evening is filled with music, dancing and celebration, and showcases the SSC faculty and the exceptional programs provided to the South Shore community. A live auction offers exceptional experiences to the highest bidder. East Coast Soul rocks the house at the After Party, which begins at 9 pm. The evening also includes a piano bar, sing-along, and exciting raffle items. Proceeds benefit SSC Community Partnerships, Creative Arts Therapies and tuition assistance programs.
Open Mic
Friday, January 31, 7-9 pm
South Shore Conservatory
64 St. George Street, Duxbury
Teens take the stage at South Shore Conservatory’s Open Mic night. Students are welcome to perform, or just hang out and watch. This all-inclusive event features a variety of performances, including poetry, rock bands, musicians experimenting on new instruments, solos/duos, a student emcee, and more! Open Mic is free for SSC students to participate, and $10 for non-SSC performers. Admission to the event is free and open to the public.
The James Library & Center for the Arts
Best Books of 2019 for Children
Thursday, December 5, refreshments at 6:30 pm, presentation at 7 pm
Buttonwood Books and Toys, 747 Chielf Justice Cushing Hwy., Cohasset
Admission is free
Not sure what the best book for your child is? Inly School Librarian, author, and national book reviewer Shelley Sommer presents her top picks for holiday gifts at this program. Shelley knows kids and what they love to read. Join us at Buttonwood Books and Toys for refreshments and to grab the children in your life their next favorite book! Best Books sponsoring partners are Buttomwood Books and Toys and Debbie and Andy Zildjian.
The Holiday Marketplace
Saturday, December 7, 9 am to 3 pm
The James Library, 24 West Street, Norwell
Admission is free, donations appreciated at the door
Looking for locally made, one-of-a-kind gifts this holiday season? Include the Marketplace when you shop this year. Artisans on three floors of the James offer quality pottery, soaps, culinary creations, textiles, jewelry, writing instruments, specialty dog foods and treats, and more for unique holiday gift giving. This season’s unique craftspeople include Wind River Designs Jewelry, Carberry Kitchen, Sirenetta Chocolatier, Tiny Forest Soap Company, Fire Garden Pottery, and many more! The Holiday Marketplace is sponsored by Coastal Heritage Bank, HUB International, and the Liz McCarron Team at William Raveis.
Exhibit: Homebody: Works of Hanna Washburn
Opening Reception: December 13, 2019 6 to 8 pm
The James Library, 24 West Street, Norwell
Exhibition Dates: December 13, 2019 through January 25, 2020
Hanna Washburn presents her soft sculptures made from recycled clothing, furniture, and found objects. Working with materials that have their own history, her playful anthropomorphic forms engage with material memory, and explore the relationship between the body and space.
Washburn’s work is constructed from clothing, furniture, household items, and other materials that have former associations. She sources these supplies from her own life, and the lives of her friends and family, to build compound sculptural forms. The resulting sculptures look and behave like bodies or body parts: gradually sagging towards the floor in some places, gesturing with animated buoyancy in others. Some works have the structure of an armature, while other forms droop under the influence of gravity. Using materials with another intended function as my medium, she allows her intimacy with objects and memories of domestic spaces to dictate her visual language. Sponsored by Yarn’s End.
The Kevin Harris Project Jazz Concert
Saturday, December 14, 7:30 pm
The James Library, 24 West Street, Norwell
Tickets: $30 adults, $25 seniors, $15 students
At this exciting engagement, the Kevin Harris Project performs musical interpretations of classic American jazz standards, soulful original compositions, and toe-tapping holiday interpretations. Joining Harris for this exciting presentation are Gregory Groover on tenor saxophone, Jason Palmer playing the trumpet, Max Ridley on acoustic bass, and Tyson Jackson on the drums. Sponsored by Old Derby Animal Hospital, Traggorth Companies, and US Wealth Management.
Donna Byrne and the Marshall Wood Trio
Saturday, January 25, 7:30 pm
The James Library, 24 West Street, Norwell
Tickets: $30 adults, $25 seniors, $20 students
Jazz singer Donna Byrne’s powerful voice, energetic personality, and life experiences give her music an almost spiritual feel, a soft and subtle charge which has brought admiration from jazz fans and the top artists in the industry. Her performances have entertained audiences from L.A. to London, wowing at venues throughout the world. She’ll perform at the James with the Marshall Wood Trio, who, together, have been honing their craft for over 25 years. Musical selections will include a wide range of American Standards in their signature style. Sponsored partners: Colburn Guyette and Kathleen and Michael Vitale.
High School Regional Juried Art Exhibition
Exhibition: January 31 through February 28, 2020
Opening Reception: Friday, January 31, 6 to 8 pm
The James Library, 24 West Street, Norwell
Prospectus to be announced!
Blue Heron Concert: Songs About Hope
Esperance & Amors in 14th-century songs by Machaut, Senleches & others
The James Library, 24 West Street, Norwell
Sunday, February 23 at 3 pm
Tickets: $35 adults, $30 seniors, $20 students
Winners of the 2018 Gramophone Classical Music Award for Early Music, Blue Heron offers an intoxicating afternoon of songs about Hope (Esperance), the allegorical character from the world of the Romance of the Rose who sustains a courtly lover through the thousand pains of lovesickness and teaches him to find delight instead of suffering. The program presents a complex of 14th-century songs which draw from each other’s words and music, including En amer a douce vie, which is sung by Esperance in Machaut’s Remede de Fortune; the anonymous Esperance qui en mon cuer s’embat, which was one of the century’s popular hits; and a trio of interrelated songs by Jacob de Senleches, Philippus de Caserta, and Johannes Galiot in the hypnotic late medieval style dubbed the Ars subtilior or “more subtle art” and transmitted by the celebrated Chantilly Codex.
Performers: Martin Near, voice; Owen McIntosh, voice; Jason McStoots, voice; Debra Nagy, recorders, douçaine and harp; Charles Weaver, lute; Scott Metcalfe, harp and fiddle.
Sponsoring partners: The Monahan Family, Lynch Marini & Associates and Elise and Jeremy Warhaftig. Sponsoring friend: The Edward N. Perry Fund.
Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra
A Mostly English Holiday – A Concert to Benefit the Alzheimer’s Family Support Center of Cape Cod
Conducted by Music Director Matthew Scinto
Sunday, December 15, 3 pm
Pilgrim Congregational Church, 533 Main Street, Rt. 28, Harwich Port
Tickets: $40 reserved seating, $30 for adults, $100 VIP Package includes one reserved ticket on floor or balcony, free CCCO T-shirt and pint glass plus a meet and greet with conductor
Take a trip overseas with beautiful English music for strings. Ralph Vaughan-Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis was inspired by this English Renaissance composer, creating a work featuring many of our musicians from the orchestra. Johann Christian Bach (the son of famed Johann Sebastian Bach) was best known as the “London” Bach, as he reached much success as a composer in England. The CCCO will perform his Sinfonia in G minor.
Grace Williams 1944 Sea Sketches depicts life out on the ocean, and then prepare to be serenaded by Sir Edward Elgar himself.
PROGRAM:
GRACE WILLIAMS Sea Sketches
ELGAR Serenade for Strings
J.C. BACH Sinfonia in G minor
VAUGHAN-WILLIAMS Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Pilgrim Festival Chorus
Wintersong
Saturday, December 7, 7:30 pm and Sunday, December 8, 4 pm
St. Bonaventure Parish, 803 State Road, Plymouth
Tickets: $20 for adults, $18 for senior citizens and $15 for students over 14
Children age of 14 and under are admitted free
Conducted by Music Director William B. Richter, accompanied by co-director Elizabeth Chapman Reilly, organ and piano
Wintersong ushers in the holiday season with a selection of appealing carols created by some of the best living choral composers. Each of the three sections – Advent, Winter, and Christmas – will contain carols in many styles by such well-respected composers as Dan Forrest, Mack Wilberg, John Rutter, and James Whitbourn. The concert will begin with a festive processional based on a favorite medieval carol, Personent Hodie.
Since 1999, PFC has provided South Shore audiences with classical choral music concerts. More than 80 vocalists of all adult ages fill out the ensemble. In addition to the winter concert, PFC presents a major choral work each spring, an annual Messiah Sing in December, and summer concerts featuring pops-style programming.
The Boys’ Choir of Saint Paul’s | Harvard Square
Saint Paul’s Choir School (SPCS) announces its Christmas season Boys’ Choir performances, a treasured tradition of Saint Paul’s | Harvard Square, Cambridge. The Choir is directed by Conductor and SPCS Director of Music James Kennerley.
The Boys’ Choir of Saint Paul’s Christmas season performances open with A Celebration of Christmas, a choral concert program performed by the Choir of Men & Boys of Saint Paul’s | Harvard Square. The program features favorite Christmas music selections, as well as beloved carols that invite the audience to join in song. Compositions are drawn from more than 500 years of choral literature, including original works composed by Director of Music and Conductor James Kennerley, as well as selections by acclaimed contemporary composers including John Rutter, Eric Whitacre and Morten Lauridsen. The Saint Paul’s choristers, in the true European tradition, invite the audience on a musical journey through the many themes and moments of the Christmas story. The choirs are joined by the Back Bay Brass, a premiere Boston-based chamber music ensemble, and a percussion ensemble, with accompaniment on Saint Paul’s majestic pipe organ by Maks Adach, organist.
image by Brian Crowley
The Boys’ Choir of Saint Paul’s Performance Schedule:
Tree Lighting Ceremony in Harvard Square
The Boys Choir joins this popular community event to share traditional Christmas carols and other seasonal songs in Cambridge’s Harvard Square
Sunday, December 1, 4:00 pm, admission is free
For more information on the Tree Lighting Ceremony, visit harvardsquare.com
Sunday, December 8, 3:00 to 4:30 pm, Saint Paul’s | Harvard Square, 29 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge
Performed by the Choir of Men & Boys of Saint Paul’s | Harvard Square
Tickets: preferred seating $35, general seating $25, advance purchase: saintpaulschoirschool.us/events
Sunday, December 15, 3:00 to 4:30 pm, Saint Paul’s | Harvard Square, 29 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge
Performed by the Choir of Men & Boys of Saint Paul’s | Harvard Square
Tickets: preferred seating $35, general seating $25, advance purchase: saintpaulschoirschool.us/events
Tickets are available at the door to church capacity, and may be purchased by cash, check or credit card. Parking is available street side or in the public garage at 65 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge.
Ceremony of Carols
A performance of Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols coupled with traditional Christmas Carols
Saturday, December 14, 6:00 pm, Our Lady of Good Voyage Shrine Church, 51 Seaport Blvd., Boston
For more information on Our Lady of Good Voyage Shrine Church, visit seaportshrine.org
image by George Martell
Saint Paul’s | Harvard Square Christmas Services
29 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge – Father William Kelly, Pastor
The Boys’ Choir of Saint Paul’s performs at each of these services, singing Gregorian plainsong selections and Christmas carols
Lessons and Carols: Tuesday, December 24, 3:00 pm
Christmas Eve Mass: Tuesday, December 24, 7:30 pm
Christmas Day Mass: Wednesday, December 25, 11:00 am
For more information on Saint Paul’s | Harvard Square, visit stpaulparish.org
Internationally recognized organist, vocalist and Director of Music James Kennerley, conductor, is rooted in the English choir school tradition, having sung as a chorister under Graham Elliott and Barry Rose at Chelmsford Cathedral. He later served as Organ Scholar at Jesus College, Cambridge, and at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London. Most recently he served as Music Director at three influential Episcopal churches in the United States. Additionally, he has provided professional leadership as Dean of the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and as Director of the New Jersey State Children’s Chorus.
Founded in 1963, Saint Paul’s Choir School prepares boys in grades 3 through 8 to succeed in the strongest secondary schools, become confident and virtuous leaders, and grow into compassionate, caring adults. Embracing the great cathedral school model, SPCS unites a rigorous academic and musical curriculum rooted in the Roman Catholic moral tradition. Within this community of faith, friendship and high expectations, students move through critical developmental periods in their transition from children to men. Over time they build the habits of mind and heart to rise to all of life’s demands and thrive in a world characterized by constant change.
Saint Paul Choir School’s world-class music program trains all students in choral music appreciation, theory and practice. They sing music ranging from Gregorian chant (which is a key feature in any sung Mass) to contemporary commissions for the choir. The choir provides beautiful liturgical music at daily and Sunday services at Saint Paul’s Church and have released several professional recordings, including the albums Ave Maria and Christmas in Harvard Square (by Aim Higher Recordings, available at saintpaulschoirschool.us). In addition, the ensemble tours internationally and performs alongside renowned groups such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
A demanding and thorough music theory course is taught using the internationally acclaimed materials of the ABRSM. Each boy takes individual piano or organ lessons, also using the ABRSM syllabus, which draws together the various elements of the music program. As the boys continue through the school and their voices change, a Choral Studies course teaches them about conducting, composition, and choir training. The study of the organ is also available to qualified students.
To learn more about Saint Paul’s Choir School enrollment, curriculum, programs and performances, visit saintpaulschoirschool.us, call 617-868-8658, or email admin@saintpaulschoirschool.us, or follow St. Paul’s Choir School Harvard Square on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Americana Theatre Company
It’s a Wonderful Life – a live radio play
Select dates from December 7 through 15, evening and matinee performances available
Plymouth Center for the Arts, 11 North Street, Plymouth
Tickets: $35.00 adults, $30.00 students/seniors
Back by popular demand! The beloved American holiday film classic performed as a live 1940s radio broadcast comes to captivating life as It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. Inside the WBFR radio studio, a small ensemble plays out 40+ roles with microphones, sound effects and the quintessential “applause” sign gracing the stage as the story of idealistic George Bailey unfolds. The hubbub and excitement of the Christmas Eve broadcast of It’s a Wonderful Life lulls as “listeners” tune in, and Bailey contemplates the fate of his future and what his world would be like if he never existed in it. A story of desperation and miracles finds hope in the prayers of an angel, delivering holiday season entertainment and joy to all those in need.
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