Holiday concerts are a time-honored tradition for orchestras, but with most audiences literally confined to home for the holidays this year, creative options abounded. Music Director Kirk Muspratt and the New Philharmonic, based in Illinois, recorded a “Holiday Sing-Along with the Symphony” program outdoors at Glen Ellyn’s Lakeside Pavilion in October under strict guidelines. The concert, streamed in December and January, featured sing-along versions of seasonal music including “Joy to the World,” the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah, Lucas Richmond’s Hanukkah festival overture, and works by John Williams, LeRoy Anderson, and Tchaikovsky. The Boston Pops and conductor Keith Lockhart recorded a “2020 Holiday Celebration” at Symphony Hall for later streaming, with an extended stage to keep musicians safely distanced. Included were “Sleigh Ride” and “Twelve Days of Christmas,” plus a virtual performance with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Portions of the program were also filmed at Fenway Park. The orchestra also rolled out a new element with the online concert: captioning and audio descriptions that allow audience members from the deaf and blind/low vision communities to participate more fully. Musicians from the New York Philharmonic performed their 25th annual holiday brass and percussion concert, but it necessitated a trip to New Jersey, where musicians recorded music at an outdoor amphitheater at Montclair State University. Former Principal Trumpet Philip Smith rejoined his Philharmonic colleagues as conductor/host/trumpet, and the program was streamed free in December and January.
