Cherish the Ladies: Celtic Christmas

Date and Time

• Tuesday, Dec 1, 2026  8pm

Location

Details

For four decades, Cherish the Ladies has been a leading ensemble in Irish traditional music, known for performances that combine instrumental virtuosity, vocals, and step dance. Led by Joanie Madden—a flute and whistle player and National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow—the Grammy-nominated group has released 18 albums, toured internationally, and collaborated with symphony orchestras.

This holiday season, the ensemble presents its Celtic Christmas program, featuring arrangements of traditional carols including “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “The First Noel,” and “Silent Night.” Drawing on a repertoire developed across several holiday recordings—On Christmas Night, A Star in the East, and Christmas in Ireland—the performance highlights Celtic instrumentation, vocal harmonies, and step dancing, with guest vocalists and dancers joining throughout.

The concert features Madden alongside Mirella Murray (accordion), Nollaig Casey (fiddle), Hannah Collins (piano), Mary Coogan (guitar), and Cheryl Prashker (percussion), joined by vocalists and guitarists Kate Purcell, Don Stiffe, and Bruce Foley. Step dancers James Greenan, Tyler Schwartz, Joe Harrison, and Nathan Pilatzke complete the program, bringing together music, song, and dance in a performance rooted in Irish tradition.