RTÉ Concert Orchestra Christmas Big Band

Have yourselves a jazzy little Christmas! The extraordinary RTÉ Concert Orchestra Big Band is joined by stunning singer Dana Masters and multi-talented pianist/conductor/arranger Cormac McCarthy and for a Christmas special.

Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, set on Christmas Eve, is a musical tradition this time of year. Tonight offers a rare chance to hear a live performance of Duke Ellington’s reworking of the Nutcracker into a jazz classic, with Billy Strayhorn as arranger.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing and Let It Snow get the full Gordon Goodwin big band treatment – and won’t resemble any church or musak version you’ve ever heard!

Dana Masters is hailed by All About Jazz as ‘a jazz singer of real note’ who ‘will long be remembered for the exceptional quality of her voice’. She takes centre stage for mellow Christmas classics including famous Ella and Sinatra versions. And for a special Irish jazz flavour, there is Cormac McCarthy’s own arrangement of The Wexford Carol.