Where to Enjoy Christmas Music This Holiday Season
For some, the holiday season means ugly sweater parties, egg nog, Secret Santa and white elephant gift exchanges. But above the roar of children's laughter and the motors that power those inflatable yard decorations, if you listen closely, you can also hear the jingling of sleigh bells and the rum-pa-pum-pum of drums.
Every year, the December holidays bring Christmas carols, sacred hymns, and traditional tunes from time immemorial and from all over the world, intermingling into the most spectacular symphony of instruments and voices that deck the halls with music (as well as boughs of holly).
And a wide offering of holiday concerts make many of our historic and most stunning venues must-visit destinations during the month of December.
So whether you're a career caroler who knows all the words or you're a nativity newbie who's Christmas-curious, here's a taste of some of the vast array of traditions that you can experience live in concert — in L.A. and beyond.
1. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, The Music Center, Downtown Los Angeles
The 63rd annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration returns live to Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at The Music Center to offer Angelenos of all ages the opportunity to experience and honor the dynamic, rich cultures of the county on Christmas Eve — December 24, 2022, from 3 to 6:00 p.m. This year's edition of the spectacular will be hosted by opera singer Suzanna Guzmán and pro roller skater Candice Heiden.
Every year, a diverse lineup of L.A. County-based artists — choral groups, dance troupes and local artists — come together to bring holiday cheer. Featuring colorful costumes and global sounds from Africa, China, India, Philippines, Mexico, Hawaii and more, this year’s performers hail from all the far reaches of Los Angeles County, from Santa Monica to the San Gabriel Valley and from the Antelope Valley to Rancho Palos Verdes.
Returning this year is the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles, all-women global soul ensemble ADAAWE, Philippine folk arts dance company Kayamanan Ng Lahi, Urban Voices Project, a choir comprised of men and women surviving homelessness on Skid Row, and more. Exciting new talent includes modern kathak (North Indian classical dance) ensemble Shivam Arts Dance Company, Pacific Ballet Dance Theatre, Sista Jean’s Blues Machine and more.
Founded in 1959 by the late Kenneth Hahn (supervisor of the Second District of Los Angeles County from 1952 to 1992) and presented by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the L.A. County Holiday Celebration is free to attend — but capacity is limited. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-seated basis starting at 2:30 p.m. on the day of the show, when doors open (although hopeful attendees usually start to line up around noon that day). Parking is free in The Music Center parking garage, and don't miss the 75-foot-tall holiday tree that's dressed in its holiday finest at Jerry Moss Plaza.
Annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration
If you can't make it to see the live show in person, it will be streaming live online on KCET's website and via the free PBS app. Encore broadcasts will be aired by PBS SoCal on Saturday, Dec. 24 at 6 p.m., and on KCET on Saturday, Dec. 24 at 11 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 25 at 6 p.m.
2. Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Music Center, Downtown Los Angeles
This year, the LA Phil's annual "Deck the Hall" program at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown L.A. (the orchestra's winter headquarters) features Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" conducted by Gustavo Dudamel on Dec. 14 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. This year, however, Dudamel presents the holiday favorite with a twist — conducting both the traditional version and a swinging reimagination of the suite by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington. The Los Angeles Children's Chorus joins in on the fun.
Other seasonal highlights include one night only with the a cappella vocal group Chanticleer on Dec. 13 at 8 p.m., "Home Alone" in Concert on Dec. 20, 21 and 22 at 8 p.m. and for a Feliz Navidad, Cuban-American jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval's Swinging Holiday on Dec. 23 at 8 p.m. Some concerts feature pre-show activities as part of the "Winter Wonderland" programming in the venue's BP Hall, including carolers, crafts and ugly sweaters.
The Los Angeles Master Chorale's "Festival of Carols" also returns to Disney Hall this year, with performances of traditional Christmas carols and festive folksongs from around the world (like the Puerto Rican carol "Abreme la puerta") taking place on Dec. 10 and 17 at 2 p.m. This family-friendly concert, which is appropriate for children age 6 and up, will also feature special guest artist Jonathan Antoine ("Britain's Got Talent").
3. Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa
Pacific Chorale — founded in 1968 and one of Orange County’s longest continuously operating performing organizations — is a resident company of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa. Its "Tis the Season!", a family-friendly holiday program, offers a selection of Christmas choral favorites, including sacred classical repertoire as well as traditional Christmas tunes and a sing-along of "O Come, All Ye Faithful."
This year, the choral group will perform under the direction of conductor Robert Istad, along with the Southern California Children’s Concert Chorus and members of Pacific Symphony on Sunday, December 18, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. and Monday, Dec. 19, 2022 at 7:30 p.m.
Pacific Symphony will also be performing at Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall with its annual Holiday Pops concert program, this year featuring the vocal stylings of jazz vocal group Manhattan Transfer on Dec. 16 and 17, both at 8 p.m.
And the annual Holiday Organ Spectacular returns this year on Dec. 20 at 7:30 p.m., when organist Todd Wilson will play the concert hall's 30-ton Fisk pipe organ (which boasts no fewer than 4322 pipes) along with members of the Pacific Symphony.
For those who may be finishing up some last-minute shopping at South Coast Plaza across the way (also built on a former lima bean field once owned by Henry Segerstrom, as is the performing arts center), there's "Fiesta Navidad," an annual celebration of Mexican traditions featuring Mariachi Los Camperos, on Dec. 23 at 8 p.m.
4. All Saints Church, Pasadena
Every year, the Pasadena Symphony and POPS performs its Holiday Candlelight at All Saints Church in Pasadena with the L.A. Bronze Handbell Ensemble, a choir and guest soloists. At this year's events on December 17 (at 4 and 7 p.m.), led by resident Pops conductor Larry Blank, the spotlight will be on vocalist LC Powell, the Los Angeles Children's Chorus, the Donald Brinegar Singers (resident chorus for Pasadena Symphony and POPS) and — intriguingly — a vocal ensemble comprised of all Jet Propulsion Laboratory employees, the JPL Chorus.
Although it was constructed in 1923 (of stone quarried from nearby Bouquet Canyon), All Saints Church is about the closest thing you'll get to a European medieval church in Pasadena — or maybe anywhere else in the L.A. area. Located near the Pasadena Civic Center, it features Batchelder tile floors, Judson Studio stained glass windows and Gothic-style decorative elements.
Its masses alone make it a destination for holiday music during Christmastime, with the Canterbury Choir offering traditional carols at an Advent Evensong on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 5 p.m.
5. Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts, Cal State Northridge
It's become a tradition for "The Soraya" (formerly the Valley Center for the Performing Arts) to host Nochebuena — a holiday musical celebration featuring Ballet Folklórico de Los Ángeles, the premiere Mexican-American folk dance company in the country. The show takes place on the California State University at Northridge campus on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 11 at 3 p.m.
Nochebuena — which literally translates as "good night" but means "Christmas Eve" — will feature folklórico dancers in colorful costumes, trick roping, and mariachi music courtesy of Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar.
And if you miss this Mexican spectacular at the Soraya, you have another chance to catch it in SoCal: at the Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University on Dec. 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m.
6. Terrace Theater, Long Beach Performing Arts Center, Long Beach
In 2022, Long Beach Ballet is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its production of the holiday classic "The Nutcracker," which performs at Long Beach Terrace Theater on Dec. 16, 17, 18, 22 and 23. Evening shows are at 7 p.m., and 2 p.m. matinees are offered on all dates except Friday, Dec. 16.
Long Beach Ballet’s Artistic Director David Wilcox promises a full symphony orchestra and a cast of over 200 — with scenery created by former Disney designers Elliot Hessayon and Scott Schaffer, a flying sleigh, a real live horse and on-stage pyrotechnics. And with a full symphony orchestra — including two harps — the Long Beach Ballet's Nutcracker production sounds as closely as possible to Tchaikovsky's original intention when he composed it.
Look for more than 500,000 dazzling holiday lights and a 67-foot Christmas tree (the largest artificial Christmas tree in Los Angeles County) adorning the Long Beach Convention Center's main plaza, where the Terrace Theater is located.
7. Muckenthaler Cultural Center, Fullerton
Located in an 18-room mansion built in 1925 for citrus and nut farmers Walter and Adella Muckenthaler, Fullerton's Muckenthaler Cultural Center — a.k.a. "The Muck" — produces nearly 100 events throughout the year, including both indoor and outdoor concerts. For the 2022 holiday season, the cultural center is hosting the sold-out Darden Christmas Concert on Dec. 15 and a free holiday festival on Sunday Dec. 18, featuring live music throughout the day from 12 to 4 p.m.
On Dec. 22 at 7:30 p.m., you can enjoy a holiday-themed slack key guitar concert and experience a Mele Kalikimaka at The Muck's Hawaiian Christmas Concert with Jim Kimo West. Non-member, member and student-senior tickets are available now on The Muck's website.
8. McCallum Theatre, Palm Desert
If you missed the McCallum Theatre's holiday concerts by Mannheim Steamroller earlier this month, don't despair. Sunday, Dec. 18 will see the return of Merri-Achi Christmas — a holiday extravaganza headlined by Mariachi Sol de Mexico de José Hernàndez. Hernàndez is a fifth-generation mariachi and founder of the Mariachi Heritage Society.
Expect seasonal songs, dance and festive merriment in a Mexican holiday celebration that this mariachi ensemble has previously brought to the L.A. County Holiday Celebration, San Francisco Symphony, Fox Riverside, Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts and more venues throughout California and even the rest of the country.
