The Singing Christmas Tree returns to Jubilee Auditorium

Edmonton’s 35-foot-tall musical Tannenbaum returns for its 10th year at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, boasting a slew of new genres for audiences of all ages to enjoy.

This year’s Singing Christmas Tree ensemble — which runs Dec. 13 – 16 — will feature rockabilly, Motown, country, swing, pop, and rap (to name a few) numbers.

For artistic director, Emmanuel Fonte, this is no mean feat — nor is it easy to incorporate holiday flair into this broad a mix of genres.

“We’ve never attempted that many different styles in our shows,” Fonte says. “I’m really excited about that.”

To keep with the Christmas theme, Fonte picked out a bevy of tracks from disparate schools of music that all deal, in some way, with the holiday season — but it’s hardly “storebought” music, he says. Every year, the Singing Christmas Tree team puts in the hours to create unique interpretations of beloved songs.

This year, “Jingle Bell Rock,” and “What Christmas Means to Me,” are some more classic examples, but Beethoven’s “Joyful Joyful (We Adore Thee)” will get both a gospel and a rap interpretation.

According to Fonte, the classic carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” will be done in the style of a 1980s power ballad.

All told, the artistic director expects a 150-personstrong adult choir a 60-kid youth choir, a 50-musician orchestra, and around 12 dancers.

“It would be tough to find a cast this large anywhere else in Canada,” Fonte says.

Every year, the event’s organizers try to think of new ways to keep things interesting. The tree, itself, will stay the same, but no year will ever be the same as the last, Fonte says.

“We want people to come and have a different experience each year,” he says. “We want it to have joy, that nostalgic feeling of Christmas. But we want to keep people on their toes, wondering what’s next.”

Throughout his impressive musical career, Fonte has made professional contacts out of some worldclass musicians, and since brought them to Edmonton to perform at The Singing Christmas Tree. This level access to talent, he says, helps things go smoothly, even when tossing new and unexpected music into the mix.

“We have a really good team,” Fonte says.

Along with the holiday spectacle is an underlying cause to do good for the city of Edmonton. The event also raises funds for the John Cameron Changing Lives Foundation — named for the event’s co-founder — which supports mental health initiatives in Edmonton.

“The mission is really carried through everyone, from all the tech people to the performers,” Fonte says. “I don’t know if I would say [John Cameron] is altruistic as much as he’s on a mission to do something important for the city.”

The Singing Christmas Tree runs Dec. 13 - 16 at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. Tickets cost between $28 and $85. For tickets, visit

“We want people to come and have a different experience each year,” says artistic director Emmanuel Fonte.“We want it to have joy, that nostalgic feeling of Christmas. But we want to keep people on their toes, wondering what’s next.”