Winter Solstice Concert in Great Barrington Matinee – SOLD OUT

The renowned Paul Winter Consort will present a concert in celebration of the winter solstice in Great Barrington. The concert will take place on Saturday, December 23rd in the beautifully restored sanctuary at Saint James Place, 352 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA. There will be two performances, a matinee at 3pm and an evening concert at 7pm. Tickets are $50 per person.

We will not be presenting our annual Winter Solstice Celebration this December at New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine. There have been a number of factors involved in this decision. We are planning events at the Cathedral for 2024, including our annual Summer Solstice Celebration.

This will be a uniquely intimate solstice celebration, in contrast to the large-scale productions done for many years in the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York. Quoting from Paul Winter, “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 vocalist Theresa Thomason, Eugene Friesen on cello, Bulgarian bassist Peter Slavov, Brazillian drummer Rogério Boccato, and Paul Winter on soprano sax.

This concert is sponsored by the Schumacher Center for a New Economics. Founded in 1980, the Schumacher Center recognizes that the environmental and equity crises we now face have their roots in the current economic system. The Center works to model community-driven economic programs that foster just and regenerative local economies. Among these are the Farmsteads for Farmers program of Berkshire Community Land Trust and BerkShares Local Currency, both additional sponsors of the two concerts.

This will be a uniquely intimate solstice celebration, in contrast to the large-scale productions done for many years in the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York. Quoting from Paul Winter, “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.”

We realize many of our friends live far from these locations, but want to let you know that from now until New Year’s Eve, when solstice is in the air, our Winter Solstice music will be on the air, in a nationwide NPR broadcast of iconic performances from past years. Please consult your local NPR station for their schedule. Solstice Saga, our epic retrospective video from the first 40 years of our Winter Solstice Celebration at the Cathedral, is available on YouTube. Our album, Everybody Under The Sun, is available on all streaming platforms and for digital and physical purchase. Everybody Under The Sun is a 30-track collection featuring The Paul Winter Consort with guest artists from around the world over four decades of these Solstice celebrations.