From Andean folk celebrations to circus-infused classics, local stages are offering a diverse slate of classical and traditional music performances that reimagine and re-enliven familiar tunes and make new ones along the way.<\/p>\n
Border CrosSing: Navidad Nuestra<\/h4>\nBorder CrosSing at Church of the Ascension in Minneapolis, 2024. The group will again perform \u201cNavidad Nuestra\u201d there this year, as well as at Academia Cesar Chavez in St. Paul. (Ana Michelle Gonzalez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nArgentinian composer Ariel Ram\u00edrez became wildly popular globally in the 20th century for incorporating folk music into his orchestral and choral compositions. With its ebullient rhythms and catchy melodies, \u201cNavidad Nuestra\u201d offers the distinctive sound of Andean folk instruments that enrich Ram\u00edrez\u2019s intoxicating melodies. In a concert featuring Border CrosSing\u2019s choral ensemble, soloists and a full Andean band, the program also includes carols (villancicos) from Mexico, Bolivia and Peru, performed in Spanish and Nahuatl. (7 p.m. Dec. 20, Academia Cesar Chavez, 4 p.m. Dec. 21, Incarnation Catholic Church, $30 with pay what you can options, 651-237-2120, bordercrossingmn.org<\/a>.)<\/p>\nThe St. Paul Chamber Orchestra: Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/h4>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.twincities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/STP-L-HOLCLASS-1130-04.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1\")
The SPCO performed Handel\u2019s \u201cMessiah\u201d at the Ordway, December 2022. They\u2019ll reprise the holiday classic this season. (Claire Loes \/ St. Paul Chamber Orchestra)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nLondon-based Portuguese conductor and pianist Dinis Sousa makes his St. Paul Chamber Orchestra debut leading a performance of this holiday classic, featuring the SPCO and Minnesotan vocal ensemble The Singers. Using a libretto by Charles Jennens, who compiled a story from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, the oratorio uses the life of Jesus Christ as theatrical subject. Free metro transit passes available for the concerts. (7 p.m. Dec 18 & 19, Basilica of St. Mary, 7 p.m. Dec. 20 & 2 p.m. Dec. 21, Ordway Concert Hall, $6-$70, 651-291-1144, thespco.org<\/a>.)<\/p>\nMinnesota Orchestra with Troupe Vertigo: Cirque Nutcracker<\/h4>\n![\"Troupe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.twincities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/STP-L-HOLCLASS-1130-03.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1\")
Troupe Vertigo (Minnesota Orchestra \/ Troupe Vertigo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky\u2019s \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d gets a circus twist with aerial ballet company Troupe Vertigo, performing their acrobatic interpretation of the classic holiday story with the Minnesota Orchestra. Conductor Molly Turner leads the performance, filled with juggling, contortion, high-flying movement and a giant Christmas tree. (8 p.m. Dec. 19, 2 p.m. Dec. 20, Orchestra Hall, $68-$129, 612-371-5600, mnorch.org<\/a>.)<\/p>\nSkylark Opera: The Christmas Rose<\/h4>\n
20th century British composer Frank Bridge, a friend and teacher to Benjamin Britten, created his opera version of the Nativity story nearly 100 years ago. Told from the perspective of two children who secretly follow a group of shepherds visiting the birth of Jesus, the opera is based on a children\u2019s play by Margaret Kemp-Welch and Constance Cotterell.\u00a0 Presented in a concert format, the opera features soloists, a chorus, and a live orchestra. (7:30 p.m. Dec. 19, 2 p.m. Dec. 21, Sundin Music Hall, $25-$45, 856-555-1212, skylark.booktix.com<\/a>.)<\/p>\nThe Klezmatics\u00a0\u2014 Happy Joyous Hannukah<\/h4>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.twincities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/STP-L-HOLCLASS-1130-01.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1\")
The Klezmatics (The Klezmatics \/ The Dakota)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nNearly 20 years ago, The Klezmatics \u2014 who reinvent the klezmer folk music tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe \u2014 released an album of Kanukkah tunes using lyrics written by Woody Guthrie. The band\u2014 which formed in the East Village of New York in 1986 and are known for mixing Yiddish tunes with contemporary global music, reissued a remastered vinyl edition of the album this year, ahead of their 14th studio album coming out in early 2026. With beloved tunes like like \u201cHanuka Gelt,\u201d \u201cSpin Dreydl Spin,\u201d and \u201cHappy Joyous Hanuka,\u201d the band offers a warm and unique sound as part of its holiday tradition.<\/p>\n
Twin Cities Bronze<\/h4>\n![\"Twin](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.twincities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/STP-L-HOLCLASS-1130-05.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1\")
Twin Cities Bronze performance in 2022. The group will perform two Solstice concerts as part of their holiday programing this year. (Twin Cities Bronze)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe Twin Cities Bronze \u2014 an auditioned 12-member ensemble of advanced bell ringers from the Twin Cities area \u2014 kicks off the holiday season with two solstice celebrations, the first at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Eagan, and a second concert at the Minnesota Museum of American Art in Lowertown. With handbells, hand chimes and more, the lively, ethereal sounds produced by this choir will get you in the spirit of the season. For this concert, the group will play music from \u201cFiesta Navidad,\u201d \u2018Twas in the Moon of Wintertime,\u201d \u201cRing Out, Solstice Bells,\u201d by Ian Anderson, and more. (7 p.m. Dec. 6, Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, 2 p.m. Dec. 7, Minnesota Museum of American Art, donations accepted, twincitiesbronze.org<\/a>.)<\/p>\nFree Courtroom Concert: Songs of the Season: Carols of Minnesota Composers<\/h4>\n
The Schubert Club\u2019s Free Courtroom Concerts at the Landmark Center are a true gem of culture in St. Paul. Hosted by composer Abbie Betinis, the lunchtime concert series presents a steady stream of excellent musicians and composers throughout the year. As the program has offered in the past, it will be reinventing the sound of the holidays this year, with a new slate of seasonal carols composed by Minnesota composers. (12 p.m. Dec. 18, Landmark Center, Free, 651-292-3268, schubert.org<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.twincities.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From Andean folk celebrations to circus-infused classics, local stages are offering a diverse slate of classical and traditional music performances that reimagine and re-enliven familiar tunes and make new ones along the way. Border CrosSing: Navidad Nuestra Border CrosSing at Church of the Ascension in Minneapolis, 2024. The group will again perform \u201cNavidad Nuestra\u201d there […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2181666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[420288,419479,308545,22482,339078],"class_list":["post-2181665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-classical-music-reviews","tag-holiday-arts-guide","tag-music-and-concerts","tag-things-to-do","tag-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Classics-get-reimagined-for-the-holidays-\u2013-Twin-Cities.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2181665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2181665"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2181665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2181667,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2181665\/revisions\/2181667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2181666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2181665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2181665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2181665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Argentinian composer Ariel Ram\u00edrez became wildly popular globally in the 20th century for incorporating folk music into his orchestral and choral compositions. With its ebullient rhythms and catchy melodies, \u201cNavidad Nuestra\u201d offers the distinctive sound of Andean folk instruments that enrich Ram\u00edrez\u2019s intoxicating melodies. In a concert featuring Border CrosSing\u2019s choral ensemble, soloists and a full Andean band, the program also includes carols (villancicos) from Mexico, Bolivia and Peru, performed in Spanish and Nahuatl. (7 p.m. Dec. 20, Academia Cesar Chavez, 4 p.m. Dec. 21, Incarnation Catholic Church, $30 with pay what you can options, 651-237-2120, bordercrossingmn.org<\/a>.)<\/p>\n London-based Portuguese conductor and pianist Dinis Sousa makes his St. Paul Chamber Orchestra debut leading a performance of this holiday classic, featuring the SPCO and Minnesotan vocal ensemble The Singers. Using a libretto by Charles Jennens, who compiled a story from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, the oratorio uses the life of Jesus Christ as theatrical subject. Free metro transit passes available for the concerts. (7 p.m. Dec 18 & 19, Basilica of St. Mary, 7 p.m. Dec. 20 & 2 p.m. Dec. 21, Ordway Concert Hall, $6-$70, 651-291-1144, thespco.org<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky\u2019s \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d gets a circus twist with aerial ballet company Troupe Vertigo, performing their acrobatic interpretation of the classic holiday story with the Minnesota Orchestra. Conductor Molly Turner leads the performance, filled with juggling, contortion, high-flying movement and a giant Christmas tree. (8 p.m. Dec. 19, 2 p.m. Dec. 20, Orchestra Hall, $68-$129, 612-371-5600, mnorch.org<\/a>.)<\/p>\n 20th century British composer Frank Bridge, a friend and teacher to Benjamin Britten, created his opera version of the Nativity story nearly 100 years ago. Told from the perspective of two children who secretly follow a group of shepherds visiting the birth of Jesus, the opera is based on a children\u2019s play by Margaret Kemp-Welch and Constance Cotterell.\u00a0 Presented in a concert format, the opera features soloists, a chorus, and a live orchestra. (7:30 p.m. Dec. 19, 2 p.m. Dec. 21, Sundin Music Hall, $25-$45, 856-555-1212, skylark.booktix.com<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Nearly 20 years ago, The Klezmatics \u2014 who reinvent the klezmer folk music tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe \u2014 released an album of Kanukkah tunes using lyrics written by Woody Guthrie. The band\u2014 which formed in the East Village of New York in 1986 and are known for mixing Yiddish tunes with contemporary global music, reissued a remastered vinyl edition of the album this year, ahead of their 14th studio album coming out in early 2026. With beloved tunes like like \u201cHanuka Gelt,\u201d \u201cSpin Dreydl Spin,\u201d and \u201cHappy Joyous Hanuka,\u201d the band offers a warm and unique sound as part of its holiday tradition.<\/p>\n The Twin Cities Bronze \u2014 an auditioned 12-member ensemble of advanced bell ringers from the Twin Cities area \u2014 kicks off the holiday season with two solstice celebrations, the first at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Eagan, and a second concert at the Minnesota Museum of American Art in Lowertown. With handbells, hand chimes and more, the lively, ethereal sounds produced by this choir will get you in the spirit of the season. For this concert, the group will play music from \u201cFiesta Navidad,\u201d \u2018Twas in the Moon of Wintertime,\u201d \u201cRing Out, Solstice Bells,\u201d by Ian Anderson, and more. (7 p.m. Dec. 6, Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, 2 p.m. Dec. 7, Minnesota Museum of American Art, donations accepted, twincitiesbronze.org<\/a>.)<\/p>\n The Schubert Club\u2019s Free Courtroom Concerts at the Landmark Center are a true gem of culture in St. Paul. Hosted by composer Abbie Betinis, the lunchtime concert series presents a steady stream of excellent musicians and composers throughout the year. As the program has offered in the past, it will be reinventing the sound of the holidays this year, with a new slate of seasonal carols composed by Minnesota composers. (12 p.m. Dec. 18, Landmark Center, Free, 651-292-3268, schubert.org<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.twincities.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From Andean folk celebrations to circus-infused classics, local stages are offering a diverse slate of classical and traditional music performances that reimagine and re-enliven familiar tunes and make new ones along the way. Border CrosSing: Navidad Nuestra Border CrosSing at Church of the Ascension in Minneapolis, 2024. The group will again perform \u201cNavidad Nuestra\u201d there […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2181666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[420288,419479,308545,22482,339078],"class_list":["post-2181665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-classical-music-reviews","tag-holiday-arts-guide","tag-music-and-concerts","tag-things-to-do","tag-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Classics-get-reimagined-for-the-holidays-\u2013-Twin-Cities.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2181665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2181665"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2181665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2181667,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2181665\/revisions\/2181667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2181666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2181665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2181665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2181665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra: Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/h4>\n
Minnesota Orchestra with Troupe Vertigo: Cirque Nutcracker<\/h4>\n
Skylark Opera: The Christmas Rose<\/h4>\n
The Klezmatics\u00a0\u2014 Happy Joyous Hannukah<\/h4>\n
Twin Cities Bronze<\/h4>\n
Free Courtroom Concert: Songs of the Season: Carols of Minnesota Composers<\/h4>\n