Your experience begins long before the first note. Find your perfect seat and explore information about parking, dining, accessibility and shopping to make your visit seamless and memorable.
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Merry, Merry Chicago!
Dec 16-23, 2022
Overview
Symphony Center’s joyous musical celebration of the season is the perfect holiday tradition for the entire family. Join members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Chorus, conducted by Alastair Willis, for a program of traditional carols and festive holiday songs, including longtime audience favorite Christmas in Chicago.
Audience members can also enjoy seasonal favorites preconcert and during intermission, when school and community ensembles perform throughout Symphony Center.
Latino Alliance
The CSO Latino Alliance will host a preconcert reception on the Dec 17th Matinee performance. Tickets required for entry. Learn more at CSO Latino Alliance.
Preconcert Dining
Enhance your concert experience by dining at the Thomas Club, located on the ninth floor of Symphony Center with sweeping views of Lake Michigan. (December 22 reservations are full)
Brunch Menu | Dinner Menu｜Make a reservation through Tock
Program
Traditional, arr. Bass
Joy to the World A Fanfare for Christmas Day
Rimsky-Korsakov
Polonaise from Christmas Eve
Handel, orch. Mozart
For Unto Us a Child Is Born from Messiah
Johann Strauss, Jr.
Overture to The Gypsy Baron
Leontovych/Wilhousky, arr. Bradford
Carol of the Bells
Tchaikovsky
Cossack Dance from Mazeppa
Traditional, arr. Rutter
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Traditional, arr. Bass
Selections from Seasonal Sounds
(includes Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town and Jingle Bells)
Herman, arr. Wendel
We Need a Little Christmas
Arnold
Four Scottish Dances, Op. 59
Handel
Zadok the priest
Humperdinck
Gingerbread Waltz from Hansel and Gretel
Anderson
Fiddle Faddle
Fry
Christmas in Chicago
Anderson
Sleigh Ride
Berlin, arr. Bass
White Christmas
Traditional, arr. Robertson
O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste fideles)
Performers
Sponsors & Partners
The appearance of the Chicago Symphony Chorus has been made possible by a generous gift from The Grainger Foundation.
Media Partner
2022 Commemorative Ornament
The holidays would not be complete without the CSO’s annual commemorative ornament. In 2022, we celebrate the 25th season of Symphony Center with an elegant and shimmering recreation of Orchestra Hall’s iconic rosette light fixtures topped with Swarovski crystals. Available while supplies last.
Order now
Discover more on Experience CSO
“I love Christmas music, and it’s really just part of our life and our culture,” says Alastair Willis,, who's returning for a second consecutive year to lead Merry, Merry Chicago!. “What really makes the CSO’s Merry, Merry Chicago! special is that we really search to find great arrangements for an orchestra the quality of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.”
Explore more
From "The Princess Bride" in Concert to "A Chanticleer Christmas" to "Merry, Merry Chicago!" Symphony Center will host a lineup of events that capture the festive spirit of the holiday season.
Explore more
When Alastair Willis leads selections from Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky in "Merry, Merry Chicago!," it's likely to evoke memories of his childhood years in Russia.
Explore more
Christmas is celebrated the world over, but in Latin America, yuletide festivities often fall under the label of Noche Navideña. That’s the name the CSO Latino Alliance has adopted for its annual holiday event, which this year will precede the Dec. 17 matinee of Merry, Merry Chicago!
Explore more
Be of good cheer: The sounds of the season will ring out at Symphony Center over the next few weeks, in concerts by the CSO Brass and "Merry, Merry Chicago!"
Explore more
Cheryl Frazes Hill — associate director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus — discusses her favorite CSO recordings.
Explore more