DATE: SAT, DEC 2, 8 PM
VENUE: LeFrak Concert Hall
TICKETS: $40 Orchestra/$30 Balcony (SOLD OUT)

One of the most engaging and successful ensembles in the history of Celtic music, Cherish the Ladies has shared timeless Irish traditions with audiences worldwide for nearly forty years. In their Celtic Christmas program, they are bringing together a twelve-piece ensemble of musicians, singers, and dancers to put their signature mark on classic carols, such as ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’ and ‘Silent Night,’ with arrangements that highlight the group’s unique Celtic instrumentation, beautiful harmonies, and spectacular step dancing.

The New York Times calls their music “passionate, tender, and rambunctious,” and the Washington Post praises their “astonishing array of virtuosity.” The band has won recognition as the BBC’s Best Musical Group of the Year and was named the Top North American Celtic Group by both the Irish Music Awards and NPR’s Thistle and Shamrock—not to mention having a street named after them on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx: Joanie Madden and Cherish the Ladies. Cherish the Ladies has released three critically acclaimed holiday albums, On Christmas Night, A Star in the East, and Christmas in Ireland.

“Cherish the Ladies has been a leading group in the Irish traditional world for more than a decade… It is simply impossible to imagine an audience that wouldn’t enjoy what they do.” (The Boston Globe)

“The five women who form the Celtic band delivered a thoroughly engaging performance brimming with spirit, wit and soul.” (The Washington Post)

“Expands the annals of Irish music in America . . . the music is passionate, tender, and rambunctious.” (The New York Times)

The lineup coming along to get you in the spirit is Joanie Madden (flute, whistles, harmony vocals), Mary Coogan (guitar), Mirella Murray (accordion), Nollaig Casey (fiddle), Kathleen Boyle and Gabriel Donohue (piano, harmony vocals), Kate Purcell (vocals and guitar), and Don Stiffe (lead vocals, guitar). The performance also features John Madden and Cheryl Prashker (sharing the percussion role) and outstanding dancing from Noel Spillane, Nathan Pilatzke and Tyler Schwarz.