Paul Winter’s Winter Solstice Celebration at Woolsey Hall in New Haven

Seven-time Grammy®-winning saxophonist Paul Winter, with the Paul Winter Consort, will present, for the first time in Connecticut, their legendary Winter Solstice Celebration on Thursday, December 19 at 7pm at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St, New Haven, CT 06511.

For decades, the Paul Winter Consort presented their Winter Solstice Celebration in the world’s largest Cathedral, New York’s St. John the Divine, where it was beloved as New York’s holiday alternative to The Nutcracker and Radio City’s Christmas Spectacular. Since covid, the event has not taken place in New York, and the Consort is now bringing it to the finest acoustic halls in New England in a ten-venue tour.

Paul Winter says, “I’m thrilled with the opportunity to play once again in this magnificent and historic forum, which from my experience has the most dynamic acoustics of any concert hall in America.”

The Consort includes Paul Winter, soprano sax; Eugene Friesen, cello; Brazilian pianist Henrique Eisenmann; Bulgarian bassist Peter Slavov; Brazilian drummer Rogerio Boccato; organist Tim Brumfield; and the beloved voice of Theresa Thomason.

“The renowned Woolsey Hall organ, with its 12,641 pipes, rivals in size the great Aeolian-Skinner organ of our home forum, New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine, where Tim was organist for many years,” Winter says. “However, being in a space considerably smaller than that of the world’s largest cathedral, the Woolsey organ embraces the audience with extraordinary power. It is the most glorious organ I’ve ever heard.”

The Winter Solstice Celebration is a contemporary take on ancient solstice rituals, when people felt a calling to come together on the longest night of the year, to welcome the return of the Sun and birth of the new year.

“Central to all the traditions of solstice is the renewal of spirit,” Paul notes, “symbolized by the rebirth of the sun. Winter solstice is a time for healing and hope; it is a time to celebrate community and relatedness; and a time to honor the diversity and the unity of the great cornucopia of life on Earth. Remembering the solstice, we resonate once again with the rhythm of the cosmos and allow our hearts to embrace the optimism of our ancient knowledge that the light will overcome the darkness.”

For any ticketing questions call the Paul Winter Consort at 860 921 7678 or email kay@paulwinter.com. Please do not call Eventbrite or Woolsey Hall.

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