NEWS – August 1, 2009
“Pipes of Christmas” Enters its Second Decade with
Performances in New York City and New Jersey
Patron Tickets Now On Sale
The Pipes of Christmas will celebrate its eleventh season with performances in New York and New Jersey this December. Two concerts are scheduled for 2PM and 8PM on Saturday, December 19 at Central Presbyterian Church located at 70 Maple Street in Summit, NJ. The “Pipes” will also return to New York City on Sunday, December 20 at the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, located at 921 Madison Avenue (at 73rd Street). The Manhattan concert begins at 2:30 PM. Proceeds support the Society’s music scholarship program.
The program presents the music of Christmas accompanied by a selection of readings taken from the Celtic literature of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Featured performers include Andrew Weir from the film “Braveheart,” the Scottish Country Dance trio Local Hero, the Solid Brass ensemble, Scottish harpist Jennifer Port, and the Kevin Ray Blandford Memorial Pipe Band of Redlands, CA.
Patron Tickets Available Now
Patron tickets are now on sale. A downloadable ticket order form can be found on the concert’s website. General admission tickets for the concert will go on sale in September.
Tickets are $50 for the NJ concerts and $60 for the NYC concert and are available via mail order. Tickets for the NY concert may also be purchased online at www.smarttix.com or by phone at (212) 868-4444 or by mail order.
About “The Pipes of Christmas”
Since making its debut in 1999, The Pipes of Christmas has played to standing room only audiences. Given the popularity of the program, a second concert was added in 2001 to accommodate the high-demand for tickets.
That same year, the concert began an award-winning partnership with HomeTowne Television by broadcasting concert highlights on Christmas Eve to an estimated 40,000 cable subscribers. Four of the Society’s productions were recipients of the prestigious Telly Award for television production excellence.
Now a cherished holiday institution, the concert has provided 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.
Since its debut in 1999, the concert has received great 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 (NJ) Leader described the concert as “a unique sound of power and glory nowhere else to be found.”