A European New Year’s Day concert tradition comes to Larchmont! As part of the new Music in the Manor concert series, St. John’s Episcopal Church invites the community to ring in the New Year with J. S. Bach’s most famous orchestral works, the Brandenburg Concertos. St. John’s music director, Dr. Matthew Lewis, will lead an all-professional group of instrumentalists for a performance of all six of these well-known concertos, performed in their entirety on New Year’s Day. 

Dr. Lewis explains that New Year’s Day concerts have long been a tradition in Europe, with one of the most famous ones being the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert. The St. John’s orchestral ensemble will include 20 musicians on strings, flutes, oboes, French horns, trumpet, bassoon, and harpsichord, many of whom have performed with the New York Philharmonic well as with other highly-acclaimed orchestras. “What better way to welcome the New Year than with these concertos, celebratory pieces that are full of optimism, hope, and joy,” notes Dr. Lewis enthusiastically. 

The Parish Hall, where the pieces will be performed, provides an intimate setting for the audience to experience the power of the music. Prior to bringing this Manhattan concert experience to Larchmont, Dr. Lewis brought a similar performance of the Brandenburg Concertos to sold-out audiences at the Church of St. James the Less in Scarsdale as a New Year’s Eve event, a tradition that continues.

The concert will begin at 3 pm on New Year’s Day, with a short intermission for a light meal with champagne mid-way through, before finishing at around 6 pm. Tickets are $75, including the festive reception.

Visit https://stjohnslarchmont.org/brandenburg-concertos-on-new-years-day/ for more information.