This year’s Pipes of Christmas concerts will take place in Summit, New York and Boston.
Pipes of Christmas — a New Jersey institution for more than a quarter of a century, offering holiday music with traditional Celtic instrumentation, and readings — will expand this year, with a Boston show in addition to the usual Summit and Manhattan ones.
The schedule for the 26th annual Pipes of Christmas shows will be:
Dec. 12, 7:30 p.m.: Old South Church, Boston.
Dec. 14, 2 p.m.: Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York.
Dec. 15, 2 and 7 p.m.: Central Presbyterian Church, Summit.
Dec. 20-31: Webcast availability of concert highlights.
DAVID NOLES
Singer Madelyn Monaghan will perform at this year’s Pipes of Christmas concerts.
Concert and webcast tickets will go on sale to the general public today at noon, following a pre-sale for concert donors in late October. Visit Eventbrite, for tickets, or pipesofchristmas.com, for information.
Among the cast of performers will be “Pipes of Christmas” veterans Steve Gibb, playing guitar and serving as music director; James Robinson (the actor whose credits include “Braveheart,” “Outlander” and “Saving Christmas Spirit”), who will do some of the readings; fiddler Caitlin Warbelow; and harpist Rachel Clemente.
One new face will be singer Madelyn Monaghan, a classically trained soprano who is an expert in traditional Irish (sean-nós) singing. Her debut album, Éist, came out in 2022.
Proceeds from all Pipes of Christmas events support the cultural outreach programs, scholarships and preservation initiatives of the Learned Kindred of Currie organization.
Regarding the Boston show, a press release says that:
The Boston concert will be held in loving memory of Brian O’Donovan, who hosted the beloved Christmas performance “A Celtic Sojourn” for Boston audiences for more than 20 years.
“Boston has long celebrated its Irish and Scottish roots through music, culture, and community, and Brian was a veritable institution in this endeavor,” said Pipes of Christmas producer Robert Currie. “While we can never replace the ‘Celtic Sojourn’ experience, we honor Brian’s legacy and love of Celtic traditions through our Boston performance. We are thrilled to join this vibrant tradition by bringing the Pipes of Christmas’ unique blend of music and storytelling to the city.”
ROBERT CURRIE
In addition to the show’s musical lineup staying largely the same, from year to year, the New Jersey and New York shows have usually attracted many of the same audience members.
“It’s easily 40 percent the same people (attending) every year,” said Robert Currie in an NJArts.net interview, last year. “And they actually say, ‘You don’t have to change a thing, just keep doing it the way it is.’ And I say, ‘Well no, I can’t. Creatively it would destroy me.’ And I know they’d get bored with it eventually, too.
“So we keep our anchor pieces that everyone looks forward to hearing, including myself, and then I’m allowed to get creative with new music and new sources and new composers, and it becomes a great showcase for them.”
Click HERE to read NJArts.net’s review of last year’s show, in Summit.
CONTRIBUTE TO NJARTS.NET
Since launching in September 2014, NJArts.net, a 501(c)(3) organization, has become one of the most important media outlets for the Garden State arts scene. And it has always offered its content without a subscription fee, or a paywall. Its continued existence depends on support from members of that scene, and the state’s arts lovers. Please consider making a contribution of any amount to NJArts.net via PayPal, or by sending a check made out to NJArts.net to 11 Skytop Terrace, Montclair, NJ 07043.
