Seven-time Grammy-winning saxophonist and bandleader Paul Winter and the Paul Winter Consort, featuring Theresa Thomason, will bring the music of their Winter Solstice Celebration to 11 acoustic venues in the Northeast this December. The tour covers New England, New York State, and Pennsylvania.
Stops include Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, N.Y.; Yale University’s Woolsey Hall in New Haven, Conn.; The Woodstock Playhouse in Woodstock, N.Y.; The Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Burlington, Vt.; and The Lebanon Opera House in Lebanon, N.H. The Cathedral Church of St. Luke in Portland, Maine, and The Church of the Covenant in Boston are also on the schedule.
The tour also visits St. James Place in Great Barrington, Mass.; The Bombyx Center in Northampton, Mass.; Grace Epiphany Episcopal Church in Philadelphia; and St. James Episcopal Church in West Hartford, Conn.
The Consort features Winter on soprano sax, cellist Eugene Friesen, Brazilian pianist Henrique Eisenmann, Bulgarian bassist Peter Slavov and percussionist Bertram Lehmann. Thomason provides the vocals.
“Central to all the traditions of Solstice is the renewal of spirit, symbolized by the rebirth of the Sun,” Winter said. “Winter Solstice is a time for healing and for hope.”
“It is a time to celebrate community and relatedness, and a time to honor the diversity and the unity of this great cornucopia of life on Earth,” he said. “In 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.”
The Winter Solstice marks the turning point of the year. For generations, people in the northern latitudes saw the coldest, darkest time of year with both foreboding and expectancy, since the longest night also marked the start of the return toward the year’s fullness. Bonfires and candles were part of rituals meant to help the sun grow strong again, and those symbols live on in the candles of Hanukkah and Christmas.
Winter’s musical career has embraced the traditions of world cultures as well as the wildlife voices of what he calls “the greater symphony of the earth.” His college jazz sextet toured 23 countries of Latin America for the State Department and performed the first jazz concert at the White House in 1962 for the Kennedys. His tours and recording expeditions have since taken him to 52 countries and wilderness areas on six continents, and he has recorded more than 60 albums, seven of which have won Grammy Awards.
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Paul Winter’s Winter Solstice Celebration
November 28: Grace Church, Philadelphia, PA – 3:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
December 4: Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Burlington, VT – 7:30 p.m.
December 5: Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Burlington, VT – 3:00 p.m.
December 11: Lebanon Opera House, Lebanon, NH – 7:00 p.m.
December 13: Yale University’s Woolsey Hall, New Haven, CT – 7:00 p.m.
December 15: Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Portland, ME – 7:30 p.m.
December 17: Church of the Covenant, Boston, MA – 7:00 p.m.
December 18: St. James Episcopal Church, Hartford, CT – 7:30 p.m.
December 19 : St. James Place, Great Barrington, MA – 3:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
December 20 – Bombyx Center, Northampton, MA – 3:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
December 23 – Tarrytown Music Hall, Tarrytown, NY – 8:00 p.m.
December 27 – Woodstock Playhouse, Woodstock, NY – 7:30 p.m.
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