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The Upper West Side will once again welcome the new year in one of the city’s most majestic spaces as the Cathedral of St. John the Divine presents its annual New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, at 7 p.m. The long-standing tradition—founded in 1984 by Leonard Bernstein—remains one of the neighborhood’s most cherished year-end gatherings, drawing New Yorkers of all ages for an evening of reflection, community, and world-class music.
This year’s program centers on a single monumental work: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, a piece who’s famous “Ode to Joy” has come to symbolize hope, unity, and resilience. The Cathedral Choir and Orchestra of St. John the Divine will be joined by a stellar quartet of soloists—Jessica Faselt (soprano), Lucia Bradford (mezzo-soprano), Joshua Blue (tenor), and Michael Sumuel (bass-baritone)—under the direction of Kent Tritle, the Cathedral’s Director of Music and one of the country’s most respected choral conductors.
The evening will also feature narration by Harry Smith, the award-winning journalist and commentator whose voice has become a familiar presence on national broadcasts. Smith’s reflections have become an integral component of the Concert for Peace, adding emotional texture and contemporary resonance to Beethoven’s timeless score.
For many West Siders, the event is more than a concert; it is a ritual that closes the year
with a moment of collective stillness and aspiration. The Cathedral’s immense interior, with its soaring Gothic arches and spiritual atmosphere, enhances the experience. Sounds travel through a space that feels at once vast and intimate, creating an acoustical environment unlike any other in the city. Beethoven’s Ninth, with its sweeping orchestral power and monumental choral finale, is particularly suited to such a setting.
Director Kent Tritle invites everyone to join in the year-ending festivities. “Beethoven’s 9th Symphony is universally known as one of our greatest, most inspiring musical treasures. I am thrilled to be offering this performance as we move into 2026. This iconic masterpiece suggests that peace, joy, and unity will triumph over the trauma, grief, and division that mires humanity today.”
The New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace is part of the Cathedral’s broader mission to use music as a unifying force. Over the decades, it has served as a point of gathering in both,celebratory and difficult times—offering solace, inspiration, and a reminder of the values that bind communities together. Bernstein envisioned the event as a call for global harmony, and its message remains as urgent today as it was four decades ago.
As the calendar turns to 2026, the Cathedral once again invites New Yorkers to pause, listen, and step into the new year with renewed purpose. For longtime attendees and newcomers alike, the Concert for Peace offers a rare gift: a moment of beauty and belonging, shared beneath the vaulted stone of one of the city’s most extraordinary landmarks.
The New Years Concert for Peace is presented Wednesday, December 31, 7pm at at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, located at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue (at 112th Street), Manhattan. Tickets begin at $50. For more information, please visit stjohndivine.org.
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