Baltimore Choral Arts Society will bring its annual Christmas with Choral Arts concert to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1. This year’s program includes a dance collaboration, a toy drive and a first-time television broadcast partnership. Tickets start at $32 and are on sale online, according to WBAL-TV.
WBAL-TV describes the concert as Choral Arts’ longest-running program. The Dec. 1 performance will be recorded for a WBAL-TV 11 premiere at 7 p.m. Dec. 19, with encore broadcasts on Christmas Day at noon and 7 p.m. Baltimore Choral Arts Society, led by music director Anthony Blake Clark, will perform with the Choral Arts Orchestra and artists from the Baltimore Black Dance Collective; WBJC’s Judith Krummeck will narrate. The organization says it has shared its talent with the Baltimore area for more than 60 years and that the Christmas program has been a tradition for more than four decades.
A New Dance Layer on the Nutcracker
The Baltimore Black Dance Collective will perform to selections from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, combining ballet with West African dance and drumming, according to WBAL-TV. The program also includes music by J.S. Bach, John Rutter and John Williams, as well as works composed or arranged by Choral Arts’ artistic staff.
Among those staff compositions is Clark's 2025 piece “New Star Carol,” dedicated to his newborn twins, which will be performed again this year at the Dec. 1 concert. Associate conductor Leo Wanenchak's arrangement of “Silent Night” rounds out the roster of in-house contributions; that arrangement was previously featured on WBAL-TV 11's “Season to Celebrate” television program, per the same account.
Toy Drive Benefits Kennedy Krieger Institute
Baltimore Choral Arts will host a toy drive during the concert to benefit the Kennedy Krieger Institute, inviting concertgoers to bring new, unwrapped toys. Guests who donate will receive a complimentary ticket to a select future Baltimore Choral Arts concert, WBAL-TV reported. Communications director Rachel Tanenblatt said the toy drive invites the community to support more Baltimore families. The organization also presents free Sing and Play early childhood music classes at Kennedy Krieger every month, per a report from WBAL-TV.
Why WBAL-TV Is Broadcasting This Year
The Dec. 1 concert marks a new partnership between Baltimore Choral Arts Society and WBAL-TV 11 to broadcast the program on television. Executive director Adam Frank said the concert will bring holiday music to homes across Baltimore through WBAL. Dan Joerres, president and general manager of WBAL-TV 11, said the station is proud to welcome Baltimore Choral Arts Society and connect families through the concert.
For concertgoers heading to the Basilica in person, Baltimore Choral Arts Society says paid parking is available at the 15 West Franklin Street garage and the 11 East Franklin Street garage. The organization also notes that wheelchair ramps provide entry near the church's front entrance into the front-left section, while the rear and side balconies are accessible only by stairs.
A Basilica With National Significance
The concert’s venue is notable beyond its role as a performance space: the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places nomination identifies the Basilica of the Assumption as the first Roman Catholic cathedral built in the United States.
Tickets to Christmas with Choral Arts start at $32 and remain available online, according to WBAL-TV. For those who can't make it to the Basilica in person, the Dec. 19 and Dec. 25 television broadcasts will offer a second chance to catch the performance from home.
