Boston, Mass. - (Nov. 20, 2025) – GBH Music is set to usher in the holiday season with Illuminate Bach: A Holiday Celebration! This festive concert event, filmed live in GBH’s Fraser Performance Studio on Dec. 3 at 8pm and preceded by a reception at 7:15pm, showcases the radiant spirit of Johann Sebastian Bach’s music, performed by the acclaimed Emmanuel Music.
The program will feature sacred and secular works by Bach, including selections that evoke the wonder and reverence of the holidays. Highlights include Part Five of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and the lyrical charm of his Oboe Concerto in D minor. The evening also features “Winter Breviary,” a set of three carols by composer Reena Esmail that gracefully draw on cultural traditions of Indian and Western themes and music. The program will be led by Emmanuel Music Artistic Director Ryan Turner and hosted by Brian McCreath, host of The Bach Hour on CRB Classical 99.5 and The Bach Channel stream.
Emmanuel Music, the featured ensemble, is part of Boston’s unique musical fabric. Known as a living laboratory for Bach’s music, the ensemble regularly performs Bach’s cantatas within the liturgical context for which they were written as part of their residency at Boston’s Emmanuel Church.
“Illuminate Bach: A Holiday Celebration! continues a warm and community-centered holiday tradition for GBH Music. This concert, featuring the unparalleled Emmanuel Music, brings an elegant and serene moment of reflection to the season, showcasing the timeless power of Bach’s music,” said GBH Music General Manager Sam Brewer. “We hope that all who attend are enchanted with the joy of this music.”
Tickets to attend Illuminate Bach: A Holiday Celebration! in person can be purchased online at gbh.org/events. The concert will be available to audiences across all of GBH’s platforms, including a total of four December television broadcasts on GBH 2, GBH 44, and NEPM; an In Concert radio broadcast on CRB Classical 99.5; and content on all digital platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, Classical.org, and GBH Passport.
For those interested in exploring Bach’s work further, listeners can tune in to The Bach Hour weekly on CRB Classical 99.5 or find The Bach Channel stream in the new CRB Classical app.
Illuminate Bach: A Holiday Celebration! is the first of a series of GBH Music concerts funded by the Mattina R. Proctor Foundation. The event is presented with support from sponsor Xfinity.
About GBH
GBH is the leading multiplatform creator for public media in America. As the largest producer of content for PBS and partner to NPR and PRX, GBH delivers compelling experiences, stories and information to audiences wherever they are. GBH produces digital and broadcast programming that engages, illuminates and inspires, through drama and science, history, arts, culture and journalism. It is the creator of such signature programs as MASTERPIECE, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, FRONTLINE, NOVA, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, Arthur and Molly of Denali and a catalog of streaming series, podcasts and on-demand video. GBH’s television channels include GBH 2, GBH 44, GBH Kids and national services WORLD and Create. With studios and a newsroom headquartered in Boston, GBH reaches across New England with GBH 89.7, Boston’s Local NPR; CRB Classical 99.5; CAI, the Cape and Islands NPR station; and as a partner to New England Public Media in Springfield. Dedicated to making media accessible to and inclusive of our diverse culture, GBH is a pioneer in delivering media to those who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired. GBH creates curriculum-based digital content for educators nationwide with PBS LearningMedia and has been recognized with hundreds of the nation’s premier broadcast, digital and journalism awards. Find more information at gbh.org.
