“A Christmas Celtic Sojourn” with Brian O’Donovan to be broadcast live from the Cutler Majestic Theatre

Celtic celebration includes traditional singers, dancers and instrumentalists

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In celebration of its 10th anniversary, "A Christmas Celtic Sojourn" with Brian O’Donovan will be broadcast from Boston’s Cutler Majestic Theatre.

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In celebration of its 10th anniversary, "A Christmas Celtic Sojourn" with Brian O’Donovan will be broadcast from Boston’s Cutler Majestic Theatre.

The popular holiday performance from WGBH Boston Public Radio will be presented locally on 89.7FM, as well as nationally through a partnership with Public Radio International.

A Celtic celebration of the season, with renowned traditional singers, dancers and instrumentalists, this special radio presentation will be produced by Benjamin K. Roe, Managing Director of Classical New England, a service of WGBH.

“We are delighted that folks who are not able to join us at the various venues around New England will be able to enjoy A Christmas Celtic Sojourn from the comfort of their homes,” said Brian O’Donovan, host and producer of the beloved holiday concert tradition. “I can’t think of a better way to mark our decade of performances.”

Read more Christmas stories here

For the 10th anniversary concert tour, O’Donovan has assembled some of the best musicians, singers, and dancers imaginable from around the Celtic world, including Seamus Egan and his groundbreaking group Solas, who lay at the contemporary edge of traditional music. Harpist Catriona McKay and fiddler Chris Stout, who stole the show in 2010, will be back for a repeat performance. With Winifred Horan on fiddle, Natalie Haas on cello, Chico Huff on bass and Ben Wittman on percussion, spectacular instrumentals and song arrangements are expected.

Scottish singer Alyth McCormack, who frequently sings with the Chieftains, will be making herdebut at Christmas Celtic Sojourn. Navan, one of the very first groups to perform in the show back in 2003 will return with their unique four-part harmonies. They will be joined by Lindsay O’Donovan and the great vocals of Mick McAuley and Eamon McElholm.

Dancing is always a large part of A Christmas Celtic Sojourn and this year will be no different. Joining the show from the regular touring line-up of the Chieftains, brothers Jon and Nathan Pilatzke, and Cara Butler will bring their unique approach to Irish dance, blending in much of the drama of the Ottawa Valley in Canada where the brothers were raised. They will be joined by young dancers from the Harney Academy of Irish Dance in Walpole. Artistically directed again by Paula Plum for the 10th straight year, this promises to be one of the most exciting Christmas Celtic Sojourns concerts yet.

Brian O’Donovan is the host of the weekly radio show A Celtic Sojourn airing Saturday afternoons from 3pm to 6pm on 89.7 WGBH. The show regularly explores music from the Celtic countries and England. Since Celtic Pagan and Christian traditions have a very strong link to the music of this season, national broadcasts of the Christmas edition of A Celtic Sojourn over the past 27 years have proven extraordinarily popular.

The full 2012 concert schedule of A Christmas Celtic Sojourn is as follows:

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