PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY BRINGS HOLIDAY CHEER WITH TWO HOLIDAY CONCERTS IN THEIR 2025-26 SEASON
Vienna Boys Choir: Christmas in Vienna - November 24
Co-presented with Soka Performing Arts Center
The Holidays with Canadian Brass - December 10
(IRVINE, CA, OCTOBER 16, 2025)—The Philharmonic Society of Orange County will ring in the holiday season with two festive concerts, each bringing a unique charm and seasonal spirit. Kicking off the celebrations is the illustrious Vienna Boys Choir on Monday, November 24, 2025, at 7:30pm at Soka Performing Arts Center. The Choir will perform Christmas in Vienna, an array of holiday tunes and beloved classics including Davis’ The Little Drummer Boy and Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. This event is co-presented with Soka Performing Arts Center.
The holiday cheer continues with the world-renowned Canadian Brass on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, at 8pm at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. The popular brass ensemble will perform a heartwarming holiday program featuring an evening of brilliant brass music and classic holiday favorites like Jingle Bell Rock and A Charlie Brown Christmas.
VIENNA BOYS CHOIR
The Vienna Boys Choir is one of the oldest and most famous choirs in the world. The choir has been singing at Vienna's Imperial Chapel since at least 1296. In 1498 Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I established a Court Chapel in Vienna where he declared that there were to be boys among the singers, thus laying the foundation for the Vienna Boys Choir. Today, the former imperial ensemble is a private, non-profit organization with a primary and grammar school for 330 boys and girls between the ages of six and nineteen with a focus on choral music and singing. Since 1924, the choirs have completed more than 1000 tours in 100 different countries, clocking up a staggering 29,000 concerts.
On Sundays, the choirs sing mass in Vienna’s Imperial Chapel with members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the men’s chorus of the Vienna State Opera. They have performed with orchestras led by conductors such as Joana Mallwitz, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Christian Thielemann, Simone Young, and Franz Welser-Möst; and appear at the Salzburg Festival and at the New Year’s Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic.
In 2023, the Choir celebrated its 525th anniversary. To mark the occasion, Deutsche Grammophon released a live album of the anniversary concert in Vienna’s Musikverein, Decca Classics released a box set of 21 CDs, and Böhlau released a book on the Choir’s history. In 2024, the Vienna Boys Choir and the Vienna Girls Choir jointly received the European Culture Award.
This concert is co-presented with Soka Performing Arts Center, which is located at 1 University Drive, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656. Ticket prices start at $60 and are available at the Soka box office at (949) 480-4278 and online at performingarts.soka.edu.
CANADIAN BRASS
With an international reputation as one of the most popular brass ensembles today, Canadian Brass has truly earned the distinction of the world’s most famous brass group. Masters of concert presentations, Canadian Brass has developed a uniquely engaging stage presence and rapport with audiences. What set Canadian Brass apart from all other performing artists in 1970 was the relentless search for repertoire that was both loved by its performers and embraced by a growing brass audience. Each of their concerts exhibits a full range of musical styles, from trademark Baroque and Dixieland tunes, to Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Joplin, Gershwin and Ellington to ballet, opera and new compositions and arrangements created especially for them.
With a discography of over 135 albums, Canadian Brass has been an important pioneer in bringing brass music to mass audiences everywhere. They have received a combined total of 24 GRAMMY and Juno nominations and won the German Echo Award for Goldberg Variations. Their most recent album, Canadiana, features unique arrangements of many Canadian superstars including Joni Mitchell and Drake. Touring legends with an enthusiastic fan base, Canadian Brass play to packed houses worldwide and were the first brass ensemble from the West to perform in the People’s Republic of China as well as the first brass group to take the main stage at Carnegie Hall.
Canadian Brass has made appearances on The Tonight Show, Today, Entertainment Tonight, Evening at Pops with John Williams and the Boston Pops, Beverly Sills’ Music Around the World, numerous PBS specials, including a celebrated appearance on Sesame Street, and are frequent guests of many major symphony orchestras.
Education continues to be at the forefront of Canadian Brass’ yearly activities. There are over one million Canadian Brass quintet repertoire books in the hands of students in every country with a strong brass tradition.
Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall is located at 615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Ticket prices start at $26 and are available at the Philharmonic Society box office at (949) 553-2422, or online at www.philharmonicsociety.org.
ABOUT PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY OF ORANGE COUNTY:
Founded in 1954 as Orange County’s first music organization, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County presents national and international performances of the highest quality and provides dynamic and innovative music education programs for individuals of all ages to enhance the lives of Orange County audiences through music.
Since its inception, the Philharmonic Society has evolved and grown with the county’s changing landscape, presenting artists and orchestras who set the standard for artistic achievement from Itzhak Perlman, Gustavo Dudamel, Yo-Yo Ma, and Renée Fleming to the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and many others. In addition, the Philharmonic Society celebrates multi-disciplinary performances under its Eclectic Orange brand and embraces music from a wide range of countries with its World Music performances. Its celebrated concerts introduce children to classical music with creative and inspiring performances, instilling music appreciation for future generations.
The Philharmonic Society’s nationally recognized Youth Music Education Programs, offered free of charge, engage more than 100,000 students annually through curriculum-based music education programs that aim to inspire, expand imaginations, and encourage learning at all levels. These programs are made possible by the Committees of the Philharmonic Society comprised of 500 volunteer members who provide more than 90,000 hours of in-kind service each year. As a key youth program, the exceptional Orange County Youth Symphony and String Ensemble provide top-tier training to the area’s most talented young musicians through multi-level ensemble instruction, leadership training, touring opportunities, challenging professional repertoire, and performances in world-class venues. The Philharmonic Society also promotes life-long learning by connecting with colleges and universities to conduct masterclasses and workshops and providing pre-concert lectures to introduce audiences to program selections.
ABOUT SOKA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER:
Soka Performing Arts Center is located on the beautiful hilltop campus of Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo. Our facility includes the 1,032-seat Concert Hall featuring world-class acoustics designed by master acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, designer of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and Suntory Hall in Tokyo, among many others. We also have an intimate 350-seat Black Box Theatre that allows for multiple seating configurations including club seating with bistro tables.
More than 750 performances have taken place since the center’s dedication on May 27, 2011. The 2024-25 season marks our thirteenth season presenting first-class programming in our world-class concert hall. We are continuing to expand our programming and outreach with the addition of a Children’s Concert Series, Jazz Monsters Series and the only Great Pianists Series on the West Coast. From classical and chamber to world and contemporary music, the Soka Performing Arts Center has become a prized space for artists and audiences alike.
We are proud to be the home of the Pacific Symphony Chamber Orchestra. Our Sundays @ Soka Series with Pacific Symphony continues to be one of our most popular series year after year. Our presentations with other Orange County arts organizations have enabled us to reach further into our community to offer arts education and programming. Our partnership with the Philharmonic Society of Orange County includes our PSOC Series, which brings superlative artists to our stage. We also partner with PSOC for our Outreach Program, bringing over 7,000 school children to Soka Performing Arts Center to experience live performances with outstanding musicians.
With its world-class acoustics and first-class performances, Soka Performing Arts Center is quickly becoming one of the cultural jewels of Orange County.
To Engage, Educate, and Elevate the Human Spirit…
Soka Performing Arts Center strives to elevate humanity through transcendent experiences. Come experience our exquisite acoustics. Come to expand your understanding and appreciation of music. Come to forge community and emotional connections through the shared experience of live music. Come to Listen. Feel. Transform.
Adaora Onyebeke
adaora@philharmonicsociety.org
(949) 480-4014
Marie Songco-Torres
marie@philharmonicsociety.org
(949) 553-2422, ext. 230