John Rutter and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra team up to bring Christmas to your living room

9 November 2020, 16:18 | Updated: 26 April 2021, 17:25

By Rosie Pentreath

The online ‘A Christmas Celebration’ concert will feature John Rutter and a host of special guests, performing great carols and festive favourites.

While the exact form Christmas will take this year is still uncertain, what is guaranteed is that it remains a time for many of us to celebrate and connect, and enjoy wonderful music together.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is encouraging us to do just that with its special ‘Christmas Celebration’ concert. Composer John Rutter will be conducting, with special guests actor Simon Callow, baritone Roderick Williams, mezzo-soprano Melanie Marshall, VOCES8 and organist Andrew Lucas on the bill.

RPO’s ‘A Christmas Celebration’ takes place in the stunning surrounds of St Albans Cathedral and will feature all our favourite carols, uplifting fanfares, and other festive classics guaranteed to bring warmth and celebration into your home. The concert is being streamed online globally, and tickets start at only £10.

And if you can’t save the date, Classic FM will be broadcasting the concert in full afterwards, at 8pm on Friday 18 December.

Click here to listen to non-stop carols on Classic FM’s Christmas playlist >

It just wouldn’t be Christmas without @johnmrutter and the RPO! This year, we're bringing you a special festive celebration of carols with @VOCES8 & @Sviceridor – streamed into your home. Grab your tickets (and mince pies!) and join us from 10 December: https://t.co/0Ky4HdtVFp pic.twitter.com/R7CqBH9h1O
— Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (@rpoonline) November 6, 2020

How to watch John Rutter and RPO’s Christmas Celebration online

Head to the RPO website to buy your tickets for ‘A Christmas Celebration’.

Tickets start at £10, but you’re also invited to ‘Pay what you can’ in order to support the orchestra and its musicians at what’s been an incredibly difficult time.

You will receive your ticket confirmation via email, and instructions to watch the concert in the same email. In order to watch, you’ll be invited to create an online account with the email address you used to purchase your ticket, with further instructions included in the same email.

You can also buy tickets to ‘A Christmas Celebration’ as a gift for someone else, and your ticket confirmation email will let you know how to do that as well.

You will have access to view the concert an unlimited number of times for 12 days.

When is John Rutter and RPO’s Christmas Celebration?

‘A Christmas Celebration’ streams at 7.30pm on Thursday 10 December. Click here to get your tickets.

You can also hear the concert in full on Classic FM at 8pm on Friday 18 December.

Visit: RPO.co.uk to find out more and buy tickets to ‘A Christmas Celebration’.

Hear the concert in full on The Classic FM Concert with John Suchet on Friday 18 December, on FM and DAB radio, online or via Global Player, the official Classic FM app.