The Pipes of Christmas has opened public ticket and webstreaming sales to its 25th annual concert. The beloved holiday event includes the following performances:
December 16, 2PM – New York City – Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church (921 Madison Avenue)
December 17, 2PM and 7PM – Summit, NJ – Central Presbyterian Church (70 Maple Street)
December 22-31 – Global concert highlights – Streamed webcast that can be accessed digitally from around the world
According to producer Robert Currie, “We are absolutely delighted to be celebrating 25 years of the Pipes of Christmas this year. It’s an honor to hear from returning concert goers that the concert is such an essential part of their Christmas tradition, and we’re excited to continue that tradition with another year of in-person and virtual performances.”
The Pipes of Christmas offers a traditional take on the season that celebrates the holiday’s spiritual and cultural roots in a fresh, meaningful way. Not only does the performance define Christmas cheer, but also it inspires those of Celtic descent to retrace and reconnect to their ancestry. The show will again feature beloved favorites as “Highland Cathedral,” “Joy to the World”, “Silent Night”, and “Amazing Grace”, all performed live on pipes and drums, harp and fiddle, organ, brass, and more. For the 25th annual production, the concert will also perform world premiere works composed exclusively for this production.
In addition to these traditional carols and newly commissioned works, the program also includes readings taken from the Celtic literature of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Featured performers include guitarist and music director Steve Gibb from Inverness, Scotland, James Robinson and Andrew Weir from the film “Braveheart,” New England fiddle champion Paul Woodiel, US National Champion harpist Rachel Clemente, and the Pipe Major Kevin Ray Blandford Memorial Pipe Band from Redlands, CA.
Making her Pipes of Christmas debut will be vocalist Cynthian Knight. A classically-trained singer with extensive performance credits, Knight was most recently awarded champion of the inaugural New York Tartan Week Gaelic Mod, as well as showcased on BBC ALBA’s programme, “Trusadh.”
Proceeds Support Scholarships and Cultural Heritage Initiatives
The concert is hosted by the Learned Kindred of Currie, a non-profit cultural and educational organization dedicated to preserving and promoting Scottish and Highland heritage and the arts. As its primary fundraiser, the Pipes of Christmas enables its continued efforts to support the global Scottish community through initiatives such as:
- Producing Tartan Day on Ellis Island, perhaps the largest Tartan Day event in the world, which received 184,000 visitors in 2023 alone!
- Providing scholarships to deserving students
- Sponsoring competitions and festivals
- Commissioning new musical and cultural works
- A global monuments initiative, which helps erect and preserve new and existing locations such as the Scottish Writers Museum and Bale nam Bàrd (the bard’s home) on the Island of South Uist
- Developing a cultural heritage centre in Scotland (currently in preliminary stages)
As with past productions, the New Jersey performances will also host a food drive to benefit GRACE (Giving and Receiving Assistance for Community’s Essentials). Audience members are encouraged to bring donations of non-perishable food items to the venue to help those experiencing food insecurity.
Corporate sponsorship and advertising opportunities are available, and a fundraising campaign is currently underway to offset production expenses and ensure that ticket sale proceeds go directly toward the Kindred’s programming.
Tickets Available Now
Tickets are now available via the Pipes of Christmas website. Reserved seating is available for both live performances. Access to the global webcast can also be booked in advance.
About “The Pipes of Christmas”
Since making its debut in 1999, The Pipes of Christmas has played to standing-room-only audiences. Now a cherished holiday event, the concert provides audiences with a stirring and reverent celebration of the Christmas season and the Celtic spirit. Audience-goers return year after year to experience the program, many reporting that the Pipes of Christmas has become part of their family’s annual Christmas tradition.
The concert has been lavished with critical acclaim. In his review for Classical New Jersey Magazine, Paul Somers wrote, “The whole evening was constructed to introduce gem after gem and still have a finale which raised the roof. In short, it was like a well-constructed fireworks show on the Glorious Fourth.” The Westfield Leader described the concert as “a unique sound of power and glory nowhere else to be found.”
Contact:
Robert Currie
[email protected]
(908) 858-6357