CLASSICAL CRACKERS Announced This Christmas At St Johns Smith Square

St John's Smith Square are marking the festive season with their 37th annual Christmas Festival. Top talent, from Vox Luminis to The Tallis Scholars, will gather in the heart of Westminster to perform timeless Christmas music. With the iconic hall at St John's Smith Square decked in Christmas decorations, and mulled wine and mince pies sold in The Footstool Cafe, Christmas at St John's Smith Square is set to be a cracker.

The season particularly focuses on choral works. This year, Vox Luminis will travel from Belgium to perform Schütz and Hammerschmidt on Friday 9th December, with a range of early music instruments including chamber organs, gut strings and sackbuts. Other popular groups included in the Christmas Festival line-up include The Tallis Scholars, Ex Cathedra, The Gesualdo Six and Siglo de Oro.

St John's Smith Square's biggest concert of the year is on Friday 23rd December. Polyphony and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment will perform Handel's Messiah. Soloists for this performance include Iestyn Davies and Anna Dennis, conducted by Stephen Layton. On Thursday 22nd December, the choir of Trinity College Cambridge perform Bach's Christmas Oratorio, another staple of the Christmas repertory. The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, will perform on Sunday 18th December, filling the hall with the enthusiastic and beautiful voices of these extremely talented student singers.

For a festive outing for all the family, the National Symphony Orchestra are joined by Southend Girls' and Boys' Choir on Friday 16th December in their programme, The Spirit of Christmas. Featuring well-known works by composers from Vivaldi to Irving Berlin, this promises to be a charming evening. On Saturday 10th December, Southbank Sinfonia will welcome 5-11 year-olds to experience a festive Musical Zoo. This is the perfect opportunity to explore the instruments of the orchestra in a Christmassy setting.

Artistic Director Stephen Layton comments, I look forward to welcoming you to our 37th Christmas Festival. This year, we present a programme of 15 varied concerts including Vox Luminis and the Tallis Scholars, concluding with our annual performance of Messiah with Polyphony and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Join us for inspirational Christmas music in the Georgian splendour of St John's Smith Square.

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