WHYY To Broadcast Opera Philadelphia’s Home For The Holidays Concert Dec. 23 – Airing Simultaneously On WHYY-TV12, On WHYY 90.9 FM And Stream Via WHYY.org

Opera stars, Orchestra, Chorus, and the magnificent Wanamaker Organ to shine under the twinkle of the iconic Light Show in a concert to be recorded on December 2.

PHILADELPHIA (Tuesday, November 18, 2025) — WHYY is proud to partner with Opera Philadelphia to present Home for the Holidays – the culmination of their popular PIPE UP! performance series – breathing new life into the Wanamaker Building this fall, filling the iconic Grand Court with music, dance, art and more. This one-night-only concert celebrates Philadelphia’s vibrant performing arts community on Tuesday, December 2, at 7:00pm, highlighting what the Wanamaker does best – the holiday season. Produced in partnership with WHYY, Opera Philadelphia will present this event showcasing Philly’s arts community at its most festive, and WHYY will record the concert for a special holiday broadcast on Tuesday, December 23 at 8:00pm to air simultaneously on WHYY-TV12, on WHYY 90.9 FM and stream via WHYY.org.

The holiday spectacular stars Opera Philadelphia’s Orchestra and Chorus, led by conductor Geoffrey McDonald, performing an evening of familiar favorites and unexpected delights. They will be joined by the Opera Philadelphia’s General Director and President, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, and renowned soprano and Philly native Leah Hawkins, 2024 recipient of the Beverly Sills Artist Award from the Metropolitan Opera. The performance, including an exciting dance interlude, will be held in the Grand Court under the twinkle of the iconic Wanamaker Light Show, for a live audience. Tickets are Pick Your Price, starting at $11, and go on sale on Thursday, November 20 at operaphila.org/pipeup.

“The holidays remind us how essential the arts are in connecting us to one another,” said Bill Marrazzo, President and CEO of WHYY. “We are proud to partner with Opera Philadelphia to bring the beauty and energy of these extraordinary performances from the heart of the Wanamaker Building to audiences throughout our region. As public media, our mission is to ensure that moments like these – rich with music, history, and community – are shared widely and freely, so they can inspire all.”

“I am thrilled to bring to bear the full scale and excitement of our orchestra and chorus in this historic space, bolstered by the incredible twenty-nine-thousand pipe Wanamaker Grand Court Organ with organist Peter Richard Conte pulling out all the stops from the organ console on the mezzanine,” said Anthony Roth Costanzo. “Along with dazzling projections and festive footwork, it feels like a culmination of all the energy, passion, and life that audiences and artists have brought to the building this fall.”

Audiences can expect to hear holiday favorites like There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays, Sleighride, The Christmas Song, and O Holy Night, alongside two movements from David Ludwig’s Hanukkah Cantata. There will also be several special surprise music selections as well as a big chorus performance that holds a special history in the Grand Court.

The program will also feature both the historic Wanamaker Light Show and a new kind of glittering holiday display, as the Philly-based creative design agency 10th Floor Productions will use the evening’s live music as inspiration for projected art mapped onto the contours of the Grand Court.

About Opera Philadelphia
Opera Philadelphia is known as “the very model of a modern opera company” (Washington Post). Committed to developing opera for the 21st century, the company is recognized as “a hotbed of operatic innovation” (New York Times). For more information, visit operaphila.org.

About WHYY:
WHYY, the Philadelphia region’s leading independent, non-commercial public media provider, has served southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and all of Delaware for more than 70 years. WHYY’s mission is to engage audiences, expand perspectives, and empower communities through lifelong learning, truthful reporting, healthy dialogue, and amplification of diverse voices. The station’s national production and presentation roster for public media includes Fresh Air with Terry Gross & Tonya Mosley, the award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues; the children’s arts education series Albie’s Elevator and The Infinite Art Hunt; the weekly science and health program & podcast, The Pulse as well as a variety of documentaries, series, and specials. WHYY also serves as the Local Primary 1 (LP1) station for the Philadelphia emergency alert system (EAS) operational area, acting as the region’s primary broadcaster for receiving and relaying emergency alerts to other stations and cable systems—ensuring the public receives timely and potentially lifesaving information. For more information, visit WHYY.org.