Cathedral Festival of Lights returns with free outdoor Christmas light show, new immersive indoor show & holiday market
Light and music celebrate the story of Christmas on a massive scale
Wednesday Dec. 15 though Sunday Dec. 19, 2021
Cathedral of Saint Paul
Watch last year’s show, The Manger, here:
COMMUNITY SPONSORS: Would you like to join us as a sponsor? We are inviting individuals, organizations, schools and businesses, to sign on as a sponsor and donate so that we can offer this show at no cost to the community.
Premiere Sponsorships start at $10,000 and will be recognized in the credits following each show. Donors at all levels will be given tickets to STARRY NIGHT.
Donations may be made securely through the CHF website ONLINE or by mailing a check to our CHF Administrator Haylie Petre, Cathedral Heritage Foundation, P.O. Box 40027, Saint Paul, MN 55104 Phone 651-300-6584
Would you like to volunteer at the Cathedral Festival of Lights?
We invite you to click on our sign up list and browse for a volunteer position that will suit you. Families, work groups, or friends are encouraged to sign up together.
Featuring prize-winning organist, Christopher Ganza
(Saint Paul, Minn.) Dr. Christopher Ganza,Choirmaster and Organist of the Cathedral of Saint Paul, will present a free organ recital at 3 p.m., Sunday, March 14, 2021 at the Cathedral of Saint Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul. The public is invited to attend in person, or via live stream. The Cathedral follows Minnesota’s Covid-19 protocols in order to provide a safe indoor environment by following social distancing and mask requirements.
Dr. Ganza will present Charles-Marie Widor’s 6th symphony for organ, performed on the esteemed E.M. Skinner and Æolian-Skinner pipe organs. First premiered in 1878, Widor’s symphony brings its listeners on an epic journey from darkness into light. As the Church throughout the world celebrates “Laetare (rejoice) Sunday,” the name given to the Fourth Sunday in the season of Lent, this journey from darkness to light accords with the upcoming joy of Easter following the observance of Jesus’ Passion. Having been inspired by the orchestral music and the advancements in organ technology of his time, Widor challenged the organ to imitate a full orchestra in depth and sound and expression. The magnificent organs of the Cathedral of Saint Paul, having been themselves constructed after many of the same design ideals, will bring Widor’s ideas to life.
The concert will be simultaneously streaming on the Cathedral website (www.cathedralsaintpaul.org). Free parking is available in the Selby lots or on the streets as marked. Admission is free, but freewill offerings will be gratefully accepted.
Cathedral of Saint Paul
239 Selby Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55102
(Saint Paul, Minn.) The Cathedral Heritage Foundation is thrilled to announce the upcoming performance by concert organist Adam J. Brakel, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, October 10, 2019 at the Cathedral of Saint Paul, 239 Selby Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota. A suggested donation of $15 will be collected at the doors. Street parking is widely available as well as free parking in the Selby church lot. Handicapped entrances are at the Upper Selby doors, and lower Dayton doors. For more details, call the Cathedral Information Desk at 651-228-1766.
The spell-binding and artistically masterful performances of Brakel have led to his being compared to Liszt, Gould, Bernstein, and Paganini. National Public Radio hailed him as “an absolute organ prodigy, with the technique and virtuosity that most concert pianists could only dream of…He is the Franz Liszt of the organ.”
Brakel’s celebrated performances span the globe—from coast to coast in the United States to across Europe and Asia. His expansive repertoire includes the entire spectrum of styles. Brakel’s performance highlights include the complete works of César Franck, and, most notably, the fiendishly difficult Six Etudes of Jeanne Demessieux, of which Adam is one of the few organists in the world to have performed and recorded in its entirety. Adam’s program at the Cathedral will include the works of Demessieux, along with Widor, Sousa, James P. Johnson, Henry Martin, Sowerby, Bizet and Mendelssohn.
In addition to his concert career, Adam was most recently appointed Director of Music for St. James Cathedral and the Diocese of Orlando, Florida.
The Cathedral of Saint Paul has two pipe organs, an E.M. Skinner Organ, and Aeolian-Skinner Organ, both of which underwent a complete restoration and expansion between 2010-2013 by Quimby Pipe Organs, Inc. The two organs now have a combined 94 ranks of pipes for a total of 5,848 pipes ranging in size of over 32′ in length, to as small as a ballpoint pen.
The Cathedral Heritage Foundation is an independent volunteer 501 (c)3 community organization. Since its founding in 2007, the CHF’s stated mission has been “to preserve the Cathedral as an historic monument and a community treasure,” as well as to support the Cathedral as a venue for the arts and education.
The Cathedral is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the week and from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Visitors are welcome to join guided tours of the Cathedral, Tuesday—Friday at 1pm. Visitors may also take a private walking tour or a virtual tour at cathedralsaintpaul.org/visit-us.
The Palestrina Choir from St.Mary’s pro-Cathedral if Dublin had its origins in a boys’ choir formed in the 1890s at St. Mary’s Place Christian Brothers School. General Admission. Freewill offering.
Celebrated English virtuoso David Briggs will perform his dramatic and colorful solo transcription of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 (Tragic), showcasing the Cathedral’s two magnificent pipe organs. Admission to the general public is free with a suggested donation of $10.
The world-famous ensemble of men and boys performs at the Cathedral of Saint Paul during a final tour of the United States prior to the retirement of its leader for the past 37 years, Stephen Cleobury. Purchase tickets through the Fitzgerald Theater Box Office.
The University Singers, Chamber Singers, U of M Men’s and Women’s Choruses perform music that celebrates the acoustic splendor of the Cathedral of St. Paul. Kathy Saltzman Romey and Matthew Mehaffey, conductors.
This event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not necessary, seating is general admission and available on a first come, first seated basis.
CATHEDRAL HERITAGE FOUNDATION