GEMS and Trinity Wall Street Church Present Sinfonia New York's Holiday Family Concert Today

Today, December 29, 2012 at 3:00 p.m., the period-instrument orchestra Sinfonia New York, along with the Trinity Wall Street Choir, will offer a one-hour "Concert for Children of All Ages" at Trinity Wall Street Church, Broadway at Wall Street.

This holiday event, part of Trinity's annual Twelfth Night Festival of Early Music, will offer a New York spin on a famous British tradition - the "Festival of Lessons and Carols," the Christmas Eve service at King's College Chapel in Cambridge. Music by J.S. Bach (whimsically depicted above) will be featured, along with traditional and lesser-known carols; and instead of scripture, there will be a reading of Clement Clarke Moore's 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, New York City's very own poem about Santa Claus and his work on behalf of all children.

"Top-quality, uncompromising holiday music programs that are accessible to children and at the same time sophisticated enough for adults are rare," notes Gene Murrow, Executive Director of GEMS, "so we are pleased to be able to include this event as part of our Fifth Anniversary celebration. GEMS serves both the early music community and the public, including some of its youngest members, via our 'S'Cool Sounds' semester-long elementary school teaching programs. Trinity Wall Street Church is one of our City's most important historic buildings and institutions, with a choir that is celebrated world-wide; Bach is a towering figure in our musical history. Here's an entertaining, inexpensive way to experience it all and introduce young people to these treasures while continuing to celebrate the holidays."

With joyous voices and instruments - including drums and not one...not two...but three trumpets - all who are young, and young of heart, are invited to enjoy the richness of festive and contemplative music expressing the joy and hope of the Christmas season.

Sinfonia New York plays today, December 29, 2012, 3:00 p.m. at Trinity Wall Street Church, Broadway at Wall Street. Tickets: $25 - General Admission. By phone at 212/866-0468, online at www.gemsny.org or at the door. A concert for children of all ages.

Christine Gummere, Artistic Director
with the Trinity Wall Street Choir, Andrew Megill, Guest Conductor

Marika Holmqvist, concertmaster
Dongmyung Ahn, violin | Alissa Smith, viola
Christine Gummere, cello | David Chapman, violone
Priscilla Smith, Kristin Olson, oboes
John Thiessen, Nathan Botts, Patrick Dougherty, trumpets
James Baker, timpani

PROGRAM

Once in Royal David's City | Star in the East | Away in a Manger
"Zion Hort Die Wachter Singen" from Cantata No. 140 | J.S. Bach (1685 - 1750)
Concerto for Oboe | Bach
Veni Redemptor | Mervele Noght, Joseph | Ding Dong Bells
'Twas the Night Before Christmas (reading) | Clement Clarke Moore
Es ist ein Ros entsprungen | Silent Night | Three-Trumpet Fanfare
"Nun seid ihr wohl gerochen" from Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 | Bach

Sinfonia New York is a period-instrument orchestra that specializes in historically informed, vibrant performances of 17th-, 18th- and early 19th-century music. Since its Town Hall debut in 2007, the orchestra has appeared on tour in the United States and Canada, and in several performances in New York City. Most recently, the ensemble was featured in "The Art and Ecstasy of the Chaconne," presented as the opening event in Gotham Early Music Scene's fifth anniversary celebration. For more information, visit www.sinfonianewyork.org.

Gotham Early Music Scene, Inc. (GEMS) is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 2007 by a small group of leading figures in New York musical circles to serve and promote New York's early music community. Its mission is to enhance the quality and financial stability of participating artists and organizations by providing administrative, marketing, financial, and other support services to professional and amateur performing groups, institutions, presenters, and other organizations interested in early music; securing paid touring engagements throughout North America for New York-based early music artists; increasing audience size and diversity by enhanced publicity and access to early music events; and educating the public and the media about early music. For more, go to www.gemsny.org.