Ring in the new year with the Cathedral’s New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace, celebrating 40 years of hope and optimism through music. This year’s concert will feature a special performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony by the Cathedral Choirs and Orchestra, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the composition’s premiere.
When asked about the program, Kent Tritle, Director of Cathedral Music and Organist, said, “This year we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace! Founded by Leonard Bernstein in 1984, this concert has featured the fourth movement of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony time and again. This year we present the entire Symphony as we mark this extraordinary point in time and look to a future where humankind may truly embrace one another and the Divine.”
Join with generations of New Yorkers to ring in 2025 with music of peace and justice. The evening includes a touching moment of unity when the audience sings together by candlelight. All are welcome to experience the beauty and gravitas of the Cathedral building and to find inspiration for the new year in community, a truly spiritual experience for all regardless of your faith background.
The performance will be conducted by Kent Tritle, Director of Cathedral Music and Organist, and Bryan Zaros, Associate Director of Music and Choirmaster. The soloists will be Kathryn Lewek, soprano, Raehann Bryce-Davis mezzo-soprano, Paul Appleby, tenor, and William Guanbo Su, bass-baritone.
This performance is part of the Cathedral’s Great Music in a Great Space series, which seeks to utilize the full potential of the massive Gothic design of the Cathedral to present music, both familiar and not so familiar, in unique and spiritual settings. The concert series continues into 2025, with events to delight the senses and soothe the soul. Throughout the spring there will be a series of organ recitals to welcome the return of the Great Organ (Aeolian-Skinner Op.150A) after an absence of over five years for cleaning and restoration as well as an evening devoted to Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. And additional performances at the Cathedral in 2025 will take place in partnership with Musica Sacra, Carnegie Hall, the New York Philharmonic, and New York City Gay Men’s Chorus.
The New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace will be performed at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, located at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue (at 112th Street), Manhattan, on Tuesday, December 31st at 7pm. Tickets start at $45. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit stjohndivine.org.
