Paul Winter’s Winter Solstice Celebration with Noel Paul Stookey

Collins Center for the Arts at the University of Maine, Orono

In 1980, Paul Winter and the Consort were invited to be artists-in-residence at New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Paul Winter explains: “The dean had a personal mission to create a bridge between spirituality and ecology. He appreciated our music, but I think it was the ecological dimension of our repertoire that convinced him we could be part of the Cathedral. The premise of the invitation was entirely secular; it was not to have us play liturgical music. We could present any events we wanted, as long as we produced them ourselves.”

“For our first major event, I wanted to find the most universal milestone we could celebrate, and I thought of the winter solstice, which embraces everyone who lives in the northern hemisphere of our planet. That December, we presented our first “Winter Consort Winter Solstice Whole Earth Christmas Celebration.” I could never have imagined then that this would become an annual tradition and that the event would be enduring four decades later.”

This year the seven-time Grammy-winning Paul Winter Consort, with special guest Noel Paul Stookey, will present for the first time in Maine the timeless music of their legendary New York Winter Solstice Celebration, in a joyous and profound celebration of this season of renewal and the greater family of life. In contrast to the large-scale productions done for many years in the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York, it promises to deliver everything audiences have come to love and expect. “While we will not have all the dancers and theatrical effects that were possible in the world’s largest Cathedral, we will have all the essence of our solstice music, and we will feature, as always, the beloved voice of Theresa Thomason, who has been the ‘star’ of our solstice celebrations for over 25 years.”

The Consort will include Paul Winter on soprano sax, cellist Eugene Friesen, Brazilian pianist Henrique Eisenmann, Bulgarian bassist Peter Slavov, Brazilian drummer Rogerio Boccato, and the renowned voice of Theresa Thomason, who for 25 years has been the star of the annual Winter Solstice Celebration at New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

The winter solstice is the great turning point of the year. From time immemorial, people of the northern latitudes regarded this coldest and darkest time of the year with mingled foreboding and expectancy, for the longest night of the year was also the uncertain threshold of return towards the year’s fullness, when green things would grow again and life would be sustained. People felt a responsibility to participate in regenerative rituals to ensure the sun would wax again. Bonfires and candles, with their imitative magic, helped fortify the waning sun and ward off the spirits of darkness. These symbols live in our modern seasonal customs: the candles of Hanukkah and Christmas are kin to the fiery rites of old, which celebrated the miracle of earth’s renewal.

Venue: Collins Center for the Arts at the University of Maine, Orono. Tickets are $35 | $45 | $50 – fees included.