Philadelphia Orchestra Kicks Off Holiday Season with GLORIOUS SOUND OF CHRISTMAS Concert Tonight

Guest Conductors and Artists

Bramwell Tovey, Grammy Award-winning conductor and Vancouver Symphony music director will conduct the Glorious Sound of Christmas.

Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia once again joins the Orchestra for the beloved annual Glorious Sound of Christmas program.

Paul Goodwin, artistic director and conductor of the Carmel Bach Festival in California, leads Handel's Messiah in this time-honored concert tradition.

Soprano Karina Gauvin; mezzo-soprano Diana Moore, in her Philadelphia Orchestra debut; tenor John Tessier; and baritone Christòpheren Nomura perform as guest soloists in the Orchestra's presentation of the Baroque classic Messiah.

The Philadelphia Singers Chorale continues its association with The Philadelphia Orchestra by joining it for an exciting performance of Handel's Messiah.

Nationally recognized storyteller and narrator Charlotte Blake Alston recites William Holcombe's well-loved 'Twas the Night Before Christmas for A Holiday Spectacular!

Dancers from Pennsylvania Ballet II, a trainee program for pre-professional dancers, will perform in the Holiday Spectacular! Family Concert.

The Philadelphia Orchestra

Renowned for its distinctive sound, beloved for its keen ability to capture the hearts and imaginations of audiences, and admired for an unrivaled legacy of "firsts" in music-making, The Philadelphia Orchestra is one of the preeminent orchestras in the world.

The Philadelphia Orchestra has cultivated an extraordinary history of artistic leaders in its 112 seasons, including music directors Fritz Scheel, Carl Pohlig, Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, Wolfgang Sawallisch, and Christoph Eschenbach, and Charles Dutoit, who served as chief conductor from 2008 to 2012. With the 2012-13 season, Yannick Nézet-Séguin becomes the eighth music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Named music director designate in 2010, Nézet-Séguin brings a vision that extends beyond symphonic music into the vivid world of opera and choral music.

Philadelphia is home and the Orchestra nurtures an important relationship not only with patrons who support the main season at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts but also those who enjoy the Orchestra's other area performances at the Mann Center, Penn's Landing, and other venues. The Philadelphia Orchestra Association also continues to own the Academy of Music-a National Historic Landmark-as it has since 1957.

Through concerts, tours, residencies, presentations, and recordings, the Orchestra is a global ambassador for Philadelphia and for the United States. Having been the first American orchestra to perform in China, in 1973 at the request of President Nixon, today The Philadelphia Orchestra boasts a new partnership with the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. The Orchestra annually performs at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center while also enjoying a three-week residency in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and a strong partnership with the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival.

The ensemble maintains an important Philadelphia tradition of presenting educational programs for students of all ages. Today the Orchestra executes myriad of education and community partnership programs serving over 45,000 annually, including its Neighborhood Concert Series, Sound All Around and Family Concerts, and eZseatU.

For more information on The Philadelphia Orchestra, visit www.philorch.org.