A Concert for Every Taste: Holiday Performances at the Met

«The Met's famous Christmas tree and Neapolitan Baroque crèche holds a special place in the hearts of generations of New Yorkers, as has the Met's holiday concert series. Over the past three seasons, Met Museum Presents has remixed the traditional offerings in order to provide a wider variety of engaging performances. By invigorating classical programs with contemporary music performed by eclectic ensembles, introducing pop-up performances (which are free with Museum admission!), and presenting several New York premieres, Met Museum Presents offers something for just about every musical preference, with performances taking place on most days throughout December.»

Some of our selected highlights can be found below; click through to our Holiday Concerts page for the entire rundown of concerts throughout the month.

Period Music

Celtic Christmas Vespers, on December 5, is the first major New York appearance by Apollo's Fire, The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra. They're bringing their brilliant program Sacrum Mysterium: A Celtic Christmas Vespers to Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium for a dramatic evening of Celtic music.

For the Family

Give us one hour, a couple of costumes, and a dazzlingly talented quintet of musicians, and we'll give you an unforgettable Nutcracker, unlike any you've ever seen. A Pocket Nutcracker, on December 14, is an abridged and entirely new version of the classic holiday story performed in costume. The young, fiery wind quintet WindSync will play exclusively from memory.

Craving Classical

Quartet for the Festive Time, on December 17, is the return of the Met's 2014–2015 Quartet in Residence, Attacca Quartet, for a program of Christmas carols by Francis Poulenc and quartets by Mozart and Dvořák.

Into Caroling?

Songs of the Season: The Choristers of the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, on December 19, led by renowned conductor Kent Tritle, will bring the Cathedral Church's famed Choristers to the Met to sing carols by Benjamin Britten, Robert Sirota, and others.

A New Twist on a Holiday Favorite

A Charlie Brown Christmas 50th Anniversary Celebration with Live Music, with four shows throughout December 20 and December 21, is a special screening of the film A Charlie Brown Christmas shown with live musical accompaniment and a festive holiday sing-along.

A New Yorker at the Met

Simone Dinnerstein for the Holidays, on December 20, will showcase the acclaimed pianist Simone Dinnerstein (who also happens to be from Brooklyn) as she performs Poulenc's Suite française, Debussy's Suite bergamasque, Crumb's A Little Suite for Christmas, and Schubert's Sonata in B-Flat.

For a Dose of Christmas Spirit

All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914, on December 23, features the premier all-male vocal ensemble, Cantus, singing this heartwarming true story of a truce held during World War I on Christmas night in 1914—exactly one hundred years later, to the day.

While You're Taking In the Art

Byzantine Pop-Ups on December 5, 12, and 19, at 2:00, 4:00, and 6:00 p.m., are informal pop-up performances of a cappella Byzantine hymns and medieval carols in the beloved Medieval Sculpture Hall. All nine performances are free with Museum admission.

To purchase tickets to any Met Museum Presents event, visit www.metmuseum.org/tickets; call 212-570-3949; or stop by the Great Hall Box Office, open Monday–Saturday, 11:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m.