CANDLELIGHT CHRISTMAS
Wednesday, December 9, 2026 @ 7:30 pm
Thursday, December 10, 2026 @ 7:30 pm
Monday, December 14, 2026 @ 7:30 pm
Tuesday, December 15, 2026 @ 7:30 pm
For 2026, now offering a fourth Candlelight Concert!
Voices of Ascension Chorus
Dennis Keene, Artistic Director and Conductor
Song Hee Lee, Soprano
Now in its 37th year, Voices of Ascension’s Candlelight Christmas Concerts are an enduring, cherished New York holiday ritual inside the glowing sanctuary of the Church of the Ascension. Beneath the shimmer of candlelight, this annual celebration gathers audiences in community, for music that reflects winter, wonder, and shared tradition.
Illuminated by scores of candelabras and nearly 600 individual candles, the church’s Neo-Gothic architecture becomes a radiant setting for ancient carols, Christmas choral anthems, seasonal masterworks, and beloved family favorites. This immersive concert offers an unforgettable Christmastime experience for listeners of all ages, with Voices of Ascension, the Manton Memorial Organ, and special guest soloists.
Masterfully redesigned in 1885 by architect Stanford White, the Church of the Ascension houses a premier collection of American Renaissance art, anchored by John La Farge’s monumental chancel mural and a stunning array of period stained glass. The collection blends exceptional sculpture, painting, and craftsmanship to create one of New York City’s most significant Gilded Age interiors.
These shows will sell out, get your tickets today!
Photo Credit: Jiyang Chen
Korean soprano Song Hee Lee is a 2026 Grand Finals Winner of The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition.
Song Hee begins her 2026/27 season appearing with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants in Paris and Luxembourg for a program of works by Rameau and Mondonville. Highlights also include her debut with Opera Omaha in The Pigeon Keeper (Orsia) and a return collaboration with the acclaimed early music ensemble Ruckus for a program devoted to the music of Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, presented by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
On the concert stage, Song Hee will tour with Il Pomo d’Oro and Joyce DiDonato in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Belinda), and debut with Boston Baroque in the same work along with John Blow’s Venus and Adonis (Cupid). Song Hee will make her debuts with the Knoxville Symphony, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, and Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah; with New Mexico Philharmonic for Carmina Burana; and with the Helicon Ensemble for Handel’s Apollo e Dafne.
Song Hee’s 25/26 season included her debut with Les Arts Florissants in concerts led by William Christie, as well as with Les Musiciens du Louvre under the direction of Marc Minkowski, both on tour throughout France and Spain. Additional concert engagements included her debuts with the Cecilia Chorus of New York in Handel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall and with the American Classical Orchestra in Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate. She also made her North Carolina Opera debut as in Cendrillon (La Fée).
In the summer of 2025, Song Hee made her debuts at Lincoln Center and Tanglewood in Matthew Aucoin’s Music for New Bodies directed by Peter Sellars. In the 24/25 season, she starred as Cleopatra in R.B. Schlather’s new production of Giulio Cesare, performed with Ruckus. She also appeared with Juilliard415 in a program of Handel and Rameau arias conducted by William Christie, with The Juilliard Orchestra in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges (La Princesse) led by Louis Langrée, and with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra in scenes from Der Rosenkavalier (Sophie).
Our 2026-27 Season
