BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Celebrate the sounds of the season.
With student ensembles, beloved community choirs and more, the Lehigh Valley will offer a variety of concerts that capture the spirit of Christmastime.
Here are a few to enjoy:
Central Moravian Church
When: 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6; doors open at 1 p.m.
Where: 40 W. Church St., Bethlehem.
Admission: The performance is free.
Central Moravian Church will hold its annual Advent and Christmas Concert featuring choral and instrumental music held inside the church sanctuary, which is recognized globally as part of the World Heritage–listed Moravian Church Settlements
“Central Moravian Church is happy to share this festive and reflective concert with our Lehigh Valley neighbors and visitors to Bethlehem,” Minister of Music Becky Lepore said.
“It’s a time to relax and enjoy carols and fellowship as we prepare for the busy Christmas season.”
The program will feature Lepore performing “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and “Skater’s Waltz” on Central Moravian’s Möller Opus 8650 organ — an instrument boasting four manuals, 109 ranks and 3,057 pipes.
The church choir also will offer works including “Morning Star in Darkest Night” by Dutch Moravian composer Georg Friedrich von Hellström, who served for four decades in Christiansfeld, Denmark — another Moravian World Heritage site.
Additional selections will include “Festival Nowell” by contemporary American composer Dan Forrest and “There Shall a Star” from Felix Mendelssohn’s unfinished oratorio "Christus," a beloved piece performed at nearly every Christmas Eve Vigil at Central Moravian since 1891.
Mainstreet Brass, the church’s ensemble-in-residence, will present two sets of carols, and the audience will be invited to join in singing favorite seasonal hymns.
The program will conclude with cherished Moravian traditions, including the final verse of “Jesus Call Thou Me” — sung on Christmas Eve in 1741 when Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf named the community Bethlehem — and the hymn “Morning Star,” a perennial favorite.
Muhlenberg's Advent Candlelight
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6; 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7 (The evening service also will be livestreamed.)
Admission: Free, but registration suggested at the Muhlenberg website.
Where: Egner Memorial Chapel, 2400 Chew St., Allentown
Muhlenberg College's 67th Advent Candlelight Carol services, presented by Egner Memorial Chapel and the college's music department, will include adaptations from the Festival of Lessons and Carols of King's College, Cambridge University.
The concerts will celebrate the spirit of the Advent season with music and scripture, and will feature solo performances by student musicians, both vocalists and instrumentalists, curated by faculty from the music department.
Seasonal cheer at Charter Arts
When: 7 p.m. Monday, Dec 15.
Admission: $14 adults, $8 students/children
Where: In the school's theater at 321 E. Third St., Bethlehem.
The Charter Arts Vocal Music Department's winter choral concert will feature traditional holiday songs performed by nearly 200 student musicians from three of the school's choirs.
'Crowded Table' with Lehigh Valley Chorale
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12, and 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13.
Admission: Tickets, starting at $18 are available at the chorale website.
Where: First Presbyterian Church 3231 W. Tilghman St., Allentown.
The Lehigh Valley Chorale, founded in 2016, will hold its "A Crowded Table" concerts, with a setlist of holiday favorites by Rosephayne Powell, Franz Biebl, Celine Dion and Sara Bareilles.
The chorale will be joined by musicians and student instrumentalists, plus Interim Assistant Conductor Liz Olson, and the inaugural Maks Johnson Memorial Fellow Rachel McIntosh.
This year, the chorale has partnered with New Bethany Choice Food Pantry in Bethlehem for a food drive at the winter concerts.
Holiday Pops! with the Symphony
When: 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 21
Admission: $25-$74, at Miller Symphony Hall website.
Where: Miller Symphony Hall, 23 N. Sixth St., Allentown
Allentown Symphony's annual "Holiday Pops" concert will feature Christmas classics, sing-along opportunities and a visit from Santa Claus.
Led by conductor Diane Wittry and vocalist Alli Mauzey, this year's performance will have guest stars including Camille Zamora on vocals, student performances by El Sistema Lehigh Valley Choir, Emmaus High School Chorale, the choir of Mediator and dance performances by the Accent School of Dance.
'Christmastime in Leipzig' with Bach Choir
When: 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec 13.
Where: Egner Chapel, Muhlenberg College, 2400 W. Chew St., Allentown,
Also, 4 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 14 at First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem, 2344 Church St., Bethlehem.
Tickets: $9-$45, also available to stream for $25; information at the Bach choir website.
The Bach Choir's annual "Christmastime in Leipzig" will transport audiences through the arc of Advent and the arrival of Christmas, with sounds originally performed in the historic churches of Bach’s own city.
The program will begin with two of Bach’s stunning Advent cantatas: "BWV 62, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (Saviour of the Nations, Come!)" and "BWV 147, Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (Heart and soul, life and deeds)," which includes "Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring."
The choir also will perform Bach’s Christmas cantata "BWV 110, Unser Mund sei voll Lachens (May our Mouths Be Filled with Laughter)," written 300 years ago.
The Christmas concert also will feature the premiere of a new carol by Dr. Larry Lipkis.
Celtic concert
When: 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14.
Tickets: $20 for non-members, $15 for members at 610-737-3000 or gwhs1958@gmail.com. Reservations are recommended; seating is limited.
Where: 6600 Jacksonville Road, Bath
You can warm up at the Gov. Wolf Historical Society's holiday event, which will feature classic Celtic Christmas songs provided by local group Piper's Request.
The band will perform a mix of Celtic and seasonal songs. There will be a dessert buffet and light refreshments served.
26 years of Touchstone's Follies
When: Thursday, Dec. 4-Sunday, Dec. 21
Tickets: $35 for adults, $25 students and seniors and pay-what-you-will on Thursdays
Where: Touchstone Theatre, 321 E. 4th St., Bethlehem
Touchstone Theatre will celebrate its 26th annual production of Christmas City Follies, a beloved Christmas City tradition.
Each show will feature original comedy sketches written by Touchstone’s ensemble of writers, performers and designers — complete with a few surprise favorites from past years.
Tickets are available on Touchstone's website.
'Nutcracker' and Cirque Musica at State Theatre
Where: State Theatre for the Arts, 453 Northampton St., Easton
State Theatre for the Arts' 99th season will feature festive performances of "Nutcracker! Magical Christmas Ballet" at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4 (tickets are $44.75-$65.50), “Cirque Musica — Holiday Wonderland” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5 ($59.45-$79.50), a cappella group Straight No Chaser, 3 and 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7 ($49.48-$85), and “Champions of Magic: Holiday Spectacular,” at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11 ($59.45-$109.50).
For tickets, visit the State Theatre for the Arts website.
Yuletide season at Zoellner
Zoellner Arts Center has three holiday performances lined up, including a free performance of the Lehigh University Christmas Vespers at 4 and 8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7.
The longstanding holiday show combines two traditional forms of worship in the Moravian Church — the singstunde and the candlelight service — and is directed by Sarah Frook Gallo and Associate Director Liz Olson.
The concerts will take place in Packer Memorial Church, 18 University Drive, Bethlehem.
The King's Singers, an a cappella singing group known for spreading Christmas Cheer, will perform at Baker Hall, 420 E. Packer Ave., Bethlehem.
The concert will be at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 20. Tickets start at $35, $28 for students.
Also at Baker Hall: Cherish the Ladies, an Irish American beloved holiday group, will bring its Christmas tour to Zoellner.
The show will feature a medley of new and old Irish songs, lively jigs and dancing.
The performance will be at 4 p.m. Dec. 22.
Tickets cost $45 for adults, $41 for ages 60 and older and $36 for students.
