December 6
HOLIDAY
St. Paul's Church, 315 West 22nd Street
Ring in the holiday spirit with The Chelsea Symphony’s annual concert on Friday, December 6, filled with festive music and fun traditions! This one-night only special event brings back holiday favorite Sleigh Ride conducted by the winner of TCS’ 2018 holiday concert silent auction, award-winning director and choreographer, Devanand Janki, and resident composer Aaron Dai’s The Night Before Christmas with special guest narrator MARIO CANTONE!
The concert opens with the lively Danzón No. 2 by Arturo Marquez followed by two violin favorites: Bruch’s first violin concerto featuring Molly Fletcher and the Saint-Saëns Introduction & Rondo capriccioso with Dawn Wang as soloist.
TCS is pleased to perform the NYC premiere of Fernande Breilh-Decruck’s Les clochers des Vienne, a piece written in the 1930/40s (date unknown) but which made its American premiere just last year with the Jackson Symphony Orchestra (where our very own Matthew Aubin serves as artistic director).
Decruck lived in the London Terrace apartments (the city block on 23rd to 24th Street from 9th to 10th Avenues) in the early 1930s, the cornerstone of which was laid in 1929 by the great-great-grandson of Clement Clarke Moore who wrote the poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” of course the inspiration for our seasonal favorite, The Night Before Christmas, which closes this holiday performance.
All attendees are invited to a silent auction and wine reception in support of the orchestra following the concert. You may find yourself the winner of next year’s Sleigh Ride!
Advanced purchase tickets for unassigned seating are available on Eventbrite for $25 with a limited number of tickets available at the door for a suggested donation of $20 for day-of entry.
Concert run time: 90 minutes including a 20-minute intermission followed by complimentary wine reception
Know before you go
Fernande Breilh-Decruck - life and works
Program
Danzón No. 2
Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, op. 26
Introduction & Rondo capriccioso, op. 28
Les clochers de Vienne: Suite de Valses
(NYC Premiere)
Fantasia on Greensleeves
The Night Before Christmas
Featured Artists
Mario Cantone, the celebrated New York stage actor and stand-up comedian, gained critical acclaim with his Tony-nominated one-man show LAUGH WHORE, from its appearance at the Cort Theatre on Broadway to the Showtime special. The previous theatre season saw Cantone starring in the Tony-winning ASSASSINS by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman. Both hit shows were directed by four-time Tony-winner Joe Mantello.
An accomplished stage actor, Cantone has appeared on Broadway in the role of “Buzz” in Terrence McNally's award-winning dramatic …
Devanand Janki is an award winning director-choreographer based in New York City. His credits include, Off-B’way: Zanna, Don’t! (Winner Lortel, Callaway and GLAAD Awards), Junie B. Jones, Henry and Mudge , The Yellow Brick Road , Skippyjon Jones, This One Girl’s Story, Cupid and Psyche, Love and Real Estate, and Romantic Poetry (MTC). The All Star Broadway concerts for the Actors Fund: Hair, Funny Girl, Dreamgirls (Assoc.) and Seth Rudestky’s Broadway 101. …
Dawn Wang, originally from Taiwan, began playing the violin when she was five years old. Her musical endeavors had a bright start: she won her first competition at the age of seven and made her concerto debut with the Taipei Century Symphony Orchestra in Taiwan the following year. At the age of ten, she moved with her parents to the United States to attend the Juilliard School Pre-College Division and pursue her aspiration of becoming a professional violinist, studying under …
Molly Fletcher is a violinist and fashion model. Her unique and active career has centered her in both the music and fashion realms. Her collaborations with renowned artists cross boundaries in the classical, hip-hop/pop, and rock worlds. Molly recently debuted Clean Bandit’s album “What is Love” in Kyoto, Japan on their record release tour in Asia. She’s appeared as a guest artist on BBC 1 radio, with Paul Simon at the Beacon Theatre, on Jimmy Fallon, and at Radio …
Conductor
A leader in the 21st century orchestral landscape, Dr. Matthew Aubin is constantly reaching new audiences through innovative performance formats and creative initiatives both on and off the podium.
The 2022-23 season kicks off Dr. Aubin’s inaugural year as Music Director of the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, he is Music Director of the Jackson Symphony Orchestra and serves as Artistic Director of The Chelsea Symphony. In his role at TCS, he has led highly visible collaborations with partners such …
Mark Seto leads a wide-ranging musical life as a conductor, scholar, teacher, and violinist. He is Artistic Director and Conductor of The Chelsea Symphony in New York City, and Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Music at Brown University, where he directs the Brown University Orchestra and teaches courses in music history, theory, and conducting. Highlights of his 2023-24 season include performances with violinist Itzhak Perlman, violinist Randall Goosby, and clarinetist Anthony McGill, and the inauguration of The …