Monday, December 16, 7 PM
Seven-time Grammy-winning saxophonist Paul Winter, with the Paul Winter Consort, will present their legendary Winter Solstice Celebration.
For decades, Paul Winter Consort presented their Winter Solstice Celebration in the world’s largest Cathedral, New York’s St. John the Divine, where it was beloved as New York’s holiday alternative to The Nutcracker and Radio City’s Christmas Spectacular. Since Covid, the event has not taken place in New York, and the Consort is now bringing it to the finest acoustic halls in New England in a ten-venue tour.
The Consort includes Paul Winter, soprano sax; Eugene Friesen, cello; Brazilian pianist Henrique Eisenmann; Bulgarian bassist Peter Slavov; Brazilian drummer Rogerio Boccato; and the beloved voice of Theresa Thomason.
The Winter Solstice Celebration 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 birth of the new year.
“Central to all the traditions of solstice is the renewal of spirit,” Winter notes, “symbolized by the rebirth of the sun. Winter solstice is a time for healing and hope; it is a time to celebrate community and relatedness; and a time to honor the diversity and the unity of the great cornucopia of life on Earth. Remembering the solstice, we resonate once again with the rhythm of the cosmos and allow our hearts to embrace the optimism of our ancient knowledge that the light will overcome the darkness.”