Event details
Sunday, December 21, 2025
4:00 p.m.
Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre
Count Basie Center for the Arts
99 Monmouth Street, Red Bank, NJ
Join Monmouth Civic Chorus for our beloved annual holiday concert, which audiences and musicians agree is one of the most joyous days of the year. This season’s program includes highlights from Handel’s Messiah in Act One and stirring settings of your favorite carols in Act Two. The chorus is joined by elite professional orchestra.
Logistical details
Concert runtime is approximately 90 minutes, including a short intermission. We recommend 6:00 p.m. dinner reservations.
Parking in Red Bank is free on Sundays, but there is no dedicated lot at the venue. Please allow plenty of time to find parking and go through security before taking your seats.
Accessibility
By clicking on the stick figure in a blue circle on the right side of your screen, you can access accessibility features for this digital program such as larger text and higher contrast.
Program
Act 1
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel/God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen — Plainchant and Trad. English, arr. Ryan James Brandau
Poem: “Within Each Life” — written by Robert E. Kelly, read by Lindsay Abbot
And the Glory of the Lord, from Messiah — G.F. Handel
And He Shall Purify, from Messiah — G.F. Handel
Go Tell it on the Mountain — Trad. Spiritual, arr. Margaret Bonds, orch. Brandau (Kenneth Budka, baritone)
For Unto Us a Child is Born, from Messiah — G.F. Handel
There Were Shepherds Abiding in the Field, from Messiah — G.F. Handel (Kristen Babcock, soprano)
Glory to God, from Messiah — G.F. Handel
He Shall Feed His Flock, from Messiah — G.F. Handel (Janet Breslin, alto, Caitlin deBrigard, soprano)
O Come All Ye Faithful (singalong) — arr. Brandau
Worthy is the Lamb, from Messiah — G.F. Handel
Intermission
Act 2
Jingle Bells (singalong) — John Lord Pierpont, arr. Brandau
Angels We Have Heard on High — Trad. French, arr. Brandau
Mi Yimalel — Trad. Hebrew, arr. Brandau
I Saw Three Ships — Trad. English, arr. Brandau
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day — John Calkin, arr. Brandau (Kenneth Wasser, baritone)
Wassail — Trad. English, arr. Brandau (Matthew Izzo, tenor)
Poem: “The Auld One” — written and read by Robert E. Kelly
Auld Lang Syne — Trad. Scots, arr. Brandau
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane, arr. Brandau
Finale: Joy to the World/Hallelujah/We Wish You a Merry Christmas — Isaac Watts, G.F. Handel, arr. Brandau
Selected Text & Translation
Mi Yimalel
Mi yimalel gvurot Yisrael
Otan mi yimne?
Hen be’chol dor yakum ha’gibor Goel ha’am!
Shma!
Ba’yamim ha’hem ba’zman ha’ze
Maccabi moshia u’fode
U’v’yameinu kol am Yisrael
Yitached yakum ve’yigael!
Who can retell the things that befell us,
Who can count them?
In every age, a hero or sage came to our aid.
Hark!
In this time of year in days of yore
Maccabees the Temple did restore
And tonight our people as we dream
will arise, unite, and be redeemed.
Meet the artists
Among audiences, MCC Artistic Director Ryan James Brandau is best known for dynamic and uplifting choral and orchestral performances, whether he himself is at the podium or his arrangements on the program. The New York Times hailed his recent debut appearance at Trinity Church Wall Street, conducting its iconic annual Messiah, “the gold standard” against which others “paled in comparison.” For both expert and new listeners, his interpretations are at once resplendent with the past and resonant with the present, earning the Times’ praise as “urgent and eloquent,” “burning and gladdening,” “intimate, alternately sober and joyous,” and, most essential to Ryan’s pervasive artistic intent, “modest yet monumental.”
Among musicians, he is perhaps better known for a clarity of vision and mastery of craft that is uncommonly equaled by a commitment to collaboration with vocalists and instrumentalists — a potent alchemy that not only produces music of the highest level, but invites participation in his music-made joy.
In New York City, he is the founder and Director of Res Facta, a vocal ensemble bringing together 14 of the city’s finest professional vocalists, and the longtime Artistic Director of Amor Artis, a chamber choir and Baroque orchestra, which specializes in bridging the Renaissance and Baroque to the present day. He is also the Artistic Director of the symphonic chorus and orchestra, Princeton Pro Musica — winner of the 2021 American Prize in Choral Performance — and Monmouth Civic Chorus, both in New Jersey.
In addition to leading his own ensembles, he has prepared choruses for the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and New Jersey Symphony.
As a choral and orchestral arranger, Ryan is equal parts artistic innovator and technical practitioner, taking pride in works that are as rewarding for musicians as they are for audiences. His expansive holiday repertoire in particular is lauded as “inventive,” “unfailingly gratifying,” and “in a class by itself” by the directors, vocalists, and instrumentalists of the many volunteer to professional ensembles that showcase their best through his well-crafted arrangements and meticulous orchestrations.
And as a lover and scholar of music, he is committed to collaboration with emerging artists and educational organizations, cross-cultural exploration, and building bridges for new audiences by presenting classical works in dialogue with contemporary themes and new music.
Ryan has taught and conducted at Westminster Choir College, Santa Clara University, and Smith College. He holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Yale School of Music, a Master of Philosophy in Historical Musicology from Cambridge University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Princeton University.
He lives in New York City with his husband, Ian, and his dog, Tux.
Member Soloists
Kristen Babcock, soprano, has been a member of the Monmouth Civic Chorus since 2023. Her first performance with MCC was in their collaboration with Cabaret for Life, an organization dedicated to raising funds for health-related charities, as Evelyn Nesbit in Ragtime. She performed as Leslie Lohan in CFL’s The Housewives of Monmouth County for many years, and has sailed around the world as a lead female vocalist on various cruise ships including Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth II, Crystal Cruises, and Oceania Cruises. Kristen was a featured vocalist in Las Vegas in the mega-production show Jubilee! at Bally’s, and was a featured singer in the U.S. National Tour of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber starring Petula Clark. Kristen has a Bachelor of Music in Music Theatre from Baldwin Wallace University. In her spare time, Kristen loves traveling and hiking various National Parks with her husband, Darryl, and her children, Hadley and Hudson.
Janet Breslin, MCC alto, retired from the Matawan Aberdeen Regional School District in 2012 after 36 years as an elementary vocal and general music educator. She has performed with the Monmouth Conservatory Opera/Operetta Society, the Shrewsbury Chorale, Masterwork Chorus, The Garden State Singers, Princeton Pro Musica, the five-voice a cappella ensemble Mad Regalia, the Philadelphia Orchestra Symphonic Choir, and has been a member of Monmouth Civic Chorus since 2013. She is studying voice with Nora Sirbaugh.
Janet is currently serving as Vice-President on the MCC Board of Trustees following her nine years as Music Chairperson. She is particularly proud to continue the musical legacy of her mother, Edythe Kaufman, who sang with Monmouth Civic Chorus in the late 60’s.
Kenneth Budka, bass, has been active in Monmouth County music community since he and his wife Cindy moved to Marlboro in 1991 and raised their two children. Ken has performed with the Monmouth Civic Chorus, New Jersey Chamber singers, and is a vocalist/guitarist with the Freehold United Methodist Church’s praise band “Joyful Noise” and choir. He is a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician with Marlboro Emergency Medical Services and Music Chairperson of Monmouth Civic Chorus.
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Caitlin deBrigard, soprano, has been a member of Monmouth Civic Chorus since 2010. She has participated and soloed for a number of concerts during her time with MCC. Additionally, Caitlin sometimes subs as a cantor at the Church of St. Catharine in Holmdel and works in Monmouth County in the retail banking industry. She is excited to be performing with MCC in this performance of our holiday concert!
Matthew Izzo, tenor, has been a Monmouth Civic Chorus member since 1987 and served on the Executive Board as President and Vice President from 2008 to 2016. Matt is a frequent soloist for MCC and has also performed leading roles in local stage productions over the years, including Titanic, Fiddler on the Roof, The Most Happy Fella, and Pippin. Matt holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s in electrical engineering. He works at Catchpoint Systems in New York as Executive VP of Product. Matt is married to MCC soprano Claire Harbeck. They met in MCC in 1992 and have been singing together ever since.
Kenneth Wasser, baritone, has been a member of MCC for over 40 years. He has performed leading roles in local productions of Sondheim on Sondheim, Ragtime, South Pacific, Titanic, Damn Yankees, Man of La Mancha (NJ ACT PERRY award for outstanding lead actor in a musical), Fiddler on the Roof, The Secret Garden, Follies, The Magic Flute, The Most Happy Fella, New Moon, Oklahoma!, Carousel, The Merry Widow, Brigadoon, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Kismet, and many of the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Ken is also a featured vocalist with The Garden State Symphonic Band in Middlesex County and an active partcipant in Cabaret for Life fundraisers. Ken provides the entertainment for various organizations with his one-man show, The Three Baritones. He lives in West Long Branch with his wife, Linda, also an MCC member.
Poetry
Robert E. Kelly, poet, began distributing his annual “Christmascard poems” in 1981. He earned an M.A. degree in Interpretation from Northwestern University in 1979 and a J.D. from Rutgers in 2006. Bob joined Monmouth Civic Chorus in 1997, after singing with the Oratorio Society of New York and I Cantori di New York. His poems have been featured in MCC concerts since 2015. Bob and his wife, Mary Giblin, live in Old Bridge, occasionally joined by their daughter, Kat Crowe. Bob recently retired from practicing law for the State of New Jersey.
“Within Each Life” (1995)
There is a virgin space within each life,
untouched by any penetrating force,
that trembles in the resonance of God.
Angelic rumors, faint annunciations,
disturb your slumber, rouse you from your dreams,
inviting you to bear a Christ alone.
You realize the seeded soul’s engagement
will change your life forever, weigh it down,
turn words to flesh, make angel rumors real.
You fear the turning, but insistent rhythms
draw you darkly from your resting place.
You rise to greet them – here your dance begins.
“The Auld One” (2010)
The auld one sat alone and pondered Christmas,
removed, for now, from orchestrated glee,
remembering the songs, the fights, the laughter,
the presences and presents ’round the tree.
He used to lead the singing at his parish.
For thirty years, he sang a first Noël–
a good long run, and then he passed the hymnal
to one who sings the Christmas just as well.
Some years, he now recalled, he’d barely noticed,
in spite of all the hubbub, that the time
had come to celebrate the Child’s arrival
with parties, gift-exchanges, songs and rhymes.
Each year was different, just like every other.
He looked both back and forward (and within).
He sipped spiked eggnog, grinned, and thought of someone,
then stood and joined the party once again.
MCC members performing
Soprano
Kristen Babcock
Elizabeth Bonuccelli
Donna L. Boris
Linda A. Boyce
Micaelie Bremer
Marina Christopher
Hillary Critelli
Patti Carlisle D’Andrea
Caitlin deBrigard
Megan Delaney
Lisa Ficarelli-Halpern
Claire L. Harbeck
Gwyneth Hecht
Carol Hsu
Barbara H. Jacomme
Joan R. Kinney
Lisa M. Kirby
Janice Liddy
Sandra Liddy Papp
Cindy Lin
Deborah Macock
Eleanor Mason
Pat Miller
Nicole Moran
Peggy Noecker
Petrina Picerno
Christine Psolka
Janet Rostad
Janice M. Thomas
Carol A. Van Kirk
Jennifer Weingarten
Hui-Ling Wu
Alto
Lindsay Abbot
Carol Andrew
Kathleen Blinn
Jenni Blumenthal
Janet Breslin
Dori Cerulo
Carolyn Gratzer Cope
Suzanne Costello
Celeste Credle
Heather Daniels
Patricia Dowens
Alissa Downey
Gabriella Estrada
Sarah Gillis
Becky Gorman
Susan Gorsky
Deb Hoffman
Marcie Horowitz
Joanne Kelsey
Kari Martin
Susan Metz
Alison Nead
Janine Nehila
Stephanie Palmer Bates
Mari-Jo Policastro
Clare Resnick
Jacqueline Schreiber
Fiona Smith Sutherland
Linda Wasser
Kathleen Woolston
Tenor
Kenneth Brynildsen
Tom Burlington
Douglas Clark
Marshall Gorman
James Harbison
Matthew Izzo
Matthew Kovach
George Liddy
Ray Ritchie
James Scavone
David P. Willis Jr.
Bass
Kenneth Almquist
Victor Barbella
Andrew Bogdan
Leyland Brenner
Kenneth Budka
William Fiorelli
James J. Green
Daniel Hyman
Robert E. Kelly
Kelly Morgan
Richard F. Oppenheim
Joseph Pisano
Darnell Robinson
Matthew Snodgrass
Richard Sorrentino
Tim Velardo
Kenneth Wasser
Gordon Wu
Instrumentalists performing
Violin 1
Urara Mogi
Laura Hamilton
Cheng-Chih Kevin Tsai
Garry Ianco
Ming-Feng Hsin
Gabriel Schaff
Violin 2
Marina Fragoulis
Mioi Takeda
David Steinberg
Erica Dicker
Patrick Doane
Viola
Liuh-Wen Ting
Beth Myers
Greg Williams
Nikki Frederman
Cello
Nathan Whittaker
Chris Gross
Carolyn Jesselsohn
Bass
Tony Falanga
Milad Daniari
Flute
Marisela Sager (+ Piccolo)
Diva Goodfriend-Koven
Oboe
Keve Wilson
Karen Birch-Blundell (+ English Horn)
Clarinet
Robert Dilutis
Bohdan Hilash (+ Contrabass Clarinet)
Bassoon
Daniel Shelly
Gili Sharett
Horn
Nate Udell
Stephanie Fergusen
Nicolee Kuester
Rachel Nierenberg
Trumpet
Wayne Dumaine
James De La Garza
Paul Murphy
Harp
Kristi Shade
Keyboards
Kerry Heimann
Timpani
William Trigg
Percussion
John Ferrari
Greg Landes
In memoriam
Monmouth Civic Chorus mourns the passing of former members Donald Gahn and Sandy Koslowski. Our thoughts are with their families.
A huge thanks to our donors
We are deeply grateful for the generous and continuous financial support we receive from our donors. These contributions allow us to organize and hold concerts like this one. Through the Scholarship Fund we have supported many young artists throughout the years.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
MCC Annual support
Angel ($1,200+)
Stephanie and Andrew Bates
The Cope Family
Pat and Steven Miller
Marilyn and Joel Morgovsky
Joe Pisano and Steven Russell
The Quinn Family, in memory of Fran and Dick Costello
James Scavone and Paul Chalifour
Leegen and Thomas Wu
Donor ($600 – $1,199)
Kathleen Blinn
Jenni and Ralph Blumenthal
Pat and Jac Dowens
Anne and Daniel Ford
Teri Lindstrom
Deborah Macock
Susan Metz
Warren Moe
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Martie Viets and Phil Carter
Hui-Ling and Gordon Wu
Sponsor ($300 – $599)
Doug and Doris Clark
Patti and Steve D’Andrea
Kenneth Fiorelli, in honor of chorus member Willilam Fiorelli
Becky and Marshall Gorman
Jim and Sue Harbison
Marcie Horowitz and Margaret Maloney
Brian and Joelle Kelly Family Foundation
Maura Marcus and Craig Nohl
Petrina M. Picerno
Ray and Anita Ritchie
Kathy Woolston
Patron ($150 – $299)
Anonymous (1)
Alice Berman
Hillary and Sean Critelli
William and Jean Fiorelli
Gilded Lily Florist
Susan Gorsky
Deb Hoffman, in memory of Tom Hoffman
Kathy Horgan, in honor of Jim Scavone
Greg and Joan Kinney
George Liddy
Chris Ondrak
Clare Resnick
Dr. James Schmitt
Dr. Carol A. Van Kirk, Ph.D.
Friend (up to $149)
Anonymous (1)
Glen Baird
John DeNicola
Stephan A. Heinlen, in memory of Michail J. Heinlein
Victoria Iannarone
Helen Kim
Particia Manno
Kari Martin
Charles Parr
Natalie Pawlenko
Jacqueline Schreiber, in memory of her father, MCC supporter Robert W. Schreiber
Ellen Toomey
MCC Endowment Fund
$20,000
Mike Huber, in memoriam
Gerald and Susan Metz
$10,000 +
In memory of Mary Ann Greco
Estate of Eileen McAndrew
Deborah Macock
$5,000 +
Leland dePlanque, in memoriam
A Friend
Lucent Technologies
Deborah and Dwight Macock
$1,000 +
Ralph and Jenni Blumenthal
Sydney Kindler in memory of Matthew Picerno
In memory of Ivar and Allene Lindstrom
Under $1,000
AT&T
Patti and Steve D’Andrea
Steven Doyle, in honor of his wife Helen Steblecki
Susan Levantino
Dr. James Schmitt
Roger Zurro
Gerald Metz Scholarship Endowment Fund
If you’re looking for an especially meaningful way to support MCC and talented young musicians in NJ, we encourage you to consider donating to this new scholarship fund. Longtime MCC member Jerry Metz had a profound impact on the lives of countless musicians, and we are honored to be able to continue that legacy with your help.
$36,000
Susan Metz — in memory of Jerry Metz
Under $1,000
Patti and Steve D’Andrea
Laura Green
Warren Moe
Fiona Sutherland
MCC Scholarship Fund
Under $1,000
Basil Baccash
Patti and Steve D’Andrea
Connie Goddard
Umami Girl
Hui-Ling and Gordon Wu
Roger Zurro
Please visit our Red Bank restaurant partners
Big thanks to Patrizia’s of Red Bank and 26 West on the Navesink for partnering with MCC for this concert. You’ll find MCC members dining there throughout the season, and we hope you’ll stop by, too.
Watch the official trailer video
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Printing2Go for providing exceptional service at every turn. You make our season possible.
MCC Board
President: James Scavone
Vice President: Janet Breslin
Secretary: Stephanie Palmer Bates
Treasurer: Joseph Pisano
Financial Development: Joan Kinney
Financial Operations: Michele Critelli
Marketing: Carolyn Gratzer Cope
Membership: Martie Viets
Music: Kenneth Budka
Production: Brian Shapiro
Scholarship: Sandra Liddy Papp
Technology: Heather Daniels
Registered Agent: Jenni Blumenthal
Concert production crew
Music Manager: Kenneth Budka
Production Manager: Brian Shapiro
Marketing Manager: Carolyn Gratzer Cope
Ticket Manager: Hui-Ling Wu
Database Manager: Kathy Woolston
House Manager: Doris Clark
Digital Program Manager: Jacqueline Schreiber
Program Designer: Micaelie Bremer
Mendelssohn Elijah