Paul Winter Consort presents Winter Solstice Celebration

NEW YORK — Seventime Grammy winning saxophonist/bandleader and Litchfield County resident Paul Winter will present his 39th annual Winter Solstice Celebration at New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

Performances will take place on Thursday, Dec. 20 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 21 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 22 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Ave., at 112th Street, NYC.

The 10-piece Paul Winter Consort will be joined by powerhouse gospel singer Theresa Thomason, the 25 dancers and drummers of the Forces of Nature Dance Theatre, and special guests.

Paul Winter’s Winter Solstice Celebration has become New York’s favorite holiday alternative to The Nutcracker and Radio City’s Christmas Spectacular. A dazzling extravaganza of music, dance, and spectacle within the awesome space and acoustics of the world’s largest cathedral, the event is a contemporary take on ancient solstice rituals, when people felt a calling to come together on the longest night of the year to welcome the return of the sun and the birth of the new year.

The Paul Winter Consort includes: Paul Winter on soprano sax; Paul McCandless, English horn and bass clarinet; Eugene Friesen, cello; Jeff Holmes, keyboard; Eliot Wadopian, bass; Jamey Haddad, percussion; and Tim Brumfield on the Cathedral’s great Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ.

The Winter Solstice Celebration has evolved over the years to inhabit the entirety of the titanic space of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The resounding acoustics have inspired the music of the event, and the vast dimensions of the Cathedral have given birth to unique theatrical elements. A 28-foot spiral “Solstice Tree,” adorned with a multitude of bells, gongs, and chimes symbolizing the diversity of the life family, becomes a part of the music; a huge Earth-globe travels through the Nave and rises over the center-stage; and a giant sun-gong ascends, with its player, to the 100foot vault of the Cathedral at the symbolic moment of the return of the sun.

“Of all the places I’ve played in the world,” Paul Winter says, “only two could host an event on this scale: the Cathedral and the Grand Canyon.”

Tickets are now on sale at solsticeconcert.com/wintersolstice.

Paul Winter Consort / Contributed photo The Paul Winter Consort will present its annual Winter Solstice Concert for four performances at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.