Holiday Performances

Pops conductor Stuart Chafetz returns to the BSO to conduct the annual Holiday Pops. A perfect wintertime outing, this performance will feature special guest artists, audience sing-a-longs, and the ever-popular tap dancing Santas. Make this concert a part of your family's holiday traditions!

This holiday season, the ensemble presents its Celtic Christmas program, featuring arrangements of traditional carols including “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “The First Noel,” and “Silent Night.” Drawing on a repertoire developed across several holiday recordings—On Christmas Night, A Star in the East, and Christmas in Ireland—the performance highlights Celtic instrumentation, vocal harmonies, and step dancing, with guest vocalists and dancers joining throughout.

The concert features Madden alongside Mirella Murray (accordion), Nollaig Casey (fiddle), Hannah Collins (piano), Mary Coogan (guitar), and Cheryl Prashker (percussion), joined by vocalists and guitarists Kate Purcell, Don Stiffe, and Bruce Foley. Step dancers James Greenan, Tyler Schwartz, Joe Harrison, and Nathan Pilatzke complete the program, bringing together music, song, and dance in a performance rooted in Irish tradition.

The 11-member a cappella ensemble Voctave celebrates the holidays in harmony with an evening of music for the whole family. We Need A Little Christmas features seasonal classics, contemporary favorites, and heartfelt originals from Voctave’s chart-topping 2023 album.

With a repertoire spanning Disney and Broadway hits, the ensemble is known for its intricate vocal arrangements and rich, cinematic sound. Voctave has collaborated with Grammy and American Music Award–winning artists, and its performances have drawn more than 200 million views across social media.

The Nutcracker
A beloved Frederick holiday tradition returns. This full length ballet features artists from the Maryland Regional Ballet,  New York City Ballet and students from the Frederick School of Classical Ballet.

A Christmas Carol 
School Show - Recommended for Grades 5-10

A Christmas Carol
A live theatrical play for both the young and young-at-heart, experience the beloved holiday story with a message that never grows old.

Messiah Sing Along
Join your fellow music lovers, a professional orchestra, superstar soloists, and a magnificent stage chorus performing select choruses and arias of the “Messiah” by G. F. Handel.

Eric Byrd Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas
The heartwarming animated cartoon, A Charlie Brown Christmas, is brilliantly paired with a live performance of the Vince Guaraldi jazz score by the incomparable Eric Byrd Trio.

The Nutcracker - The Western Maryland City Ballet Company and The City Ballet School
Experience the magic of ballet this holiday season as you join Clara on her enchanted journey to the land of sweets. Set to Tchaikovsky’s stunning score, this magical ballet is the perfect way to celebrate the holiday season with your family.

A Christmas Carol - The Maryland Theatre
A powerful story of redemption, charles dickens’ a christmas carol, has enchanted audiences the world over with its simple message of holiday joy. Ebenezer scrooge, that most unrepentant and miserly of fellows, is made to see the light as he survives a merciless battery of revelations by the ghosts of his own life.

Home For The Holidays 2024 - The Maryland Symphony Orchestra
An annual tradition that rings in the Holidays, the Maryland Symphony Orchestra presents Home for the Holidays at the Maryland Theatre. The Maryland Symphony Orchestra offers a magical, sing-along celebration of the season with a program featuring beloved traditional and popular music.

Holiday Spectacular - Barbara Ingram School for the Arts
Colorful costumes and seasonal sets complement a montage of songs, dances, stories and visual images that warm the hearts and inspire everyone to remember what the holiday season is truly about. This is an event that the whole family will enjoy and share, so get your tickets early because they sell out fast!

Columbia Pro Cantare is a nationally recognized mixed chorus of auditioned volunteer singers.  Enjoy the Columbia Pro Cantare chorus, Amy Van Roekel, soprano; MaryAnn McCormick, mezzo; Charles Reid, tenor; Lester Lynch, baritone; Henry Lowe, positiv organ, Festival Orchestra as they perform Handel's Messiah.

The Handel Choir of Baltimore has presented masterpieces of the choral and choral-orchestral repertoire as well as music new to Baltimore audiences.  Concerts are performed in many wonderful venues beloved by audiences.   Now,  this critically acclaimed choral ensemble preserves their long-standing Baltimore tradition with a full period orchestra.  It's perfect.

The CPC Chamber Singers, chosen from the Columbia Pro Cantare chorus especially for their vocal blend and ability to perform smaller works, present seasonal music from four centuries – some old, some new, mostly a cappella in the acoustically rich sanctuary of wood and glass found inside the Christ Episcopal Church in Columbia.

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas!
Based on the beloved, timeless film! Two WWII veterans with a successful song-and-dance act follow a duo of beautiful singing sisters to their Christmas show at a rural Vermont lodge which happens to be owned by their old commander. They plan a yuletide fun-filled extravaganza to help fill the inn! Seventeen Irving Berlin tunes such as: “Blue Skies,” “How Deep is the Ocean” and “White Christmas” make this a family musical worthy of becoming a holiday tradition!

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!
Buddy, a young orphan who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts, is transported back to the North Pole. Unaware that he is actually human, Buddy’s size and poor toy-making abilities force him to face the truth. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father, discover his true identity, and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas. This modern day holiday classic is sure to make everyone embrace their inner ELF.

Enjoy this cherished holiday ballet with your family.  The Ballet Theatre of Maryland performance of The Nutcracker brings the possibility of dreams to life.  Experience the mystery as Drosselmeier transports you and Clara back in time.  Capture the spirit of the holiday season anew.

The Annapolis Chorale’s annual performances of “Messiah” are a beloved regional holiday tradition.  World-class soloists, the Chamber Orchestra, and, of course, the Annapolis Chorale, all come together in historic St. Anne’s Church for a powerful presentation of this iconic work.   Seating for these performances is limited, so order tickets early.

Inspired by the beloved classic film and featuring the unforgettable music of Irving Berlin, Holiday Inn follows Jim Hardy as he leaves city life behind to open a charming country inn that celebrates each holiday with spectacular entertainment. Filled with romance, dazzling dance numbers, laughter, and beloved songs—including "White Christmas"—this joyous Broadway musical captures the warmth, nostalgia, and magic of the holiday season.

Performed in rotating repertory with A Christmas Carol from Black Friday through New Year's Weekend, Holiday Inn offers audiences a fresh Broadway experience while continuing the holiday traditions they have come to love at Classic Theatre of Maryland. Whether you choose one production or enjoy both, you'll experience two unforgettable celebrations of the season.

Enjoy an in-person performance by the Classic Theatre of Maryland's original adaptation by Sally Boyett and Donald Hicken. Follow Ebenezer Scrooge on his journey from miserly cynicism to heartfelt generosity, brought to life with memorable characters, festive cheer, and the magic of Christmas.

Twas the Night Before... is an exhilarating new spin on the beloved Christmas classic as only Cirque du Soleil can imagine. This vibrant acrobatic spectacle about the joy of sharing and friendship promises to spark lasting memories in the hearts of children and adults alike.