Tickets for Westminster Choir College of Rider University’s annual Holidays at Westminster go on sale Wednesday, November 1. A holiday tradition for many area residents, the festival includes performances ranging from chamber music and early music to traditional choral concerts and jazz performances. Unless noted, all performances will be held in Bristol Chapel on the Westminster campus in Princeton.

The series will begin on Friday, December 1 at 8 p.m., with a performance entitled “Cool Yule Jazz IV.” The evening will feature jazz arrangements of holiday standards performed by Philip Orr, piano; Jerry Rife, clarinet; and friends. Both Orr and Rife are Rider University faculty members. Orr is well known for his wide-ranging keyboard skills, and Rife is also the musical director of the Blawenberg Band. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for seniors and students.

The Westminster Williamson Voices conducted by James Jordan will present A Candlelight Christmas on Saturday, December 2 at 8 p.m. in Miller Chapel on the campus of the Princeton Theological Seminary. Presented entirely in candlelight, the concert will include harp, organ and choir performing music and carols by Sandstrom, Lauridsen and Ord framed by Britten’s Ceremony of Carols sung in Medieval English.

The Westminster Concert Bell Choir, conducted by Kathleen Ebling-Thorne, will present two concerts. Saturday, December 2 at 8 p.m. and Sunday December 3 and at 3 p.m., the ensemble will perform arrangements of traditional holiday works and original compositions on the world’s largest set of handbells. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for senior citizens and students.

Friday, December 8 and Saturday, December 9 at 8 p.m. Westminster will present its annual Evening of Readings and Carols in the Princeton University Chapel. An inspiring evening filled with pageantry, the event will feature performances by several choirs, organ and brass, alternating with readings that reflect the season and the diversity of the community. Audience members are invited to participate by singing traditional Christmas carols. Tickets are $45, $30 and $20.

Sunday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m. Fuma Sacra, Westminster’s ensemble-in-residence, conducted by Andrew Megill, will present “The Best Nowells that E’er Befell.” The program will include Byrd’s Mass for Christmas Day, Medieval Christmas carols and more. Admission is $20 for adults and $15 for students and senior citizens.

The Westminster Conservatory faculty will perform “Music for Midwinter” on Friday, December 15 at 8 p.m. The program will feature works that celebrate midwinter observances from different traditions, including compositions by Bach, Brahms, Martin and others. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for senior citizens and students.

Saturday, December 16 at 8 p.m. The Westminster Conservatory Youth Chorale, conducted by Frank Abrahams, will present its annual Chanukah concert featuring traditional works and new compositions. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and senior citizens.

Sunday, December 17 at 8 p.m. The Westminster Conservatory’s Community Orchestra and the Westminster Community Chorus will perform “As the Story Goes.” The program will include Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kije Suite, Ravel’s Ma Mère l’Oye “Mother Goose,” and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5 “Reformation.” The performance will be held in Princeton High School Performing Arts Center. Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for senior citizens and students.

Sunday, December 17 at 8 p.m. The Westminster Conservatory Community Chamber Choir will perform a program entitled “Magnificat.” The program will feature settings of the Magnificat and related texts by Gerald Finzi, Arvo Pärt and Michael Praetorius. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and senior citizens.

In addition to the performances of holiday music, Westminster Opera Theater will present two one-act operas in December: Holst’s Savitri and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. The performances on Saturday, December 2 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, December 3 at 2 p.m. will be held in the Princeton High School Performing Arts Center.

For tickets, call the Westminster box office at 609-921-2663. To accommodate the high demand for tickets, the box office will be open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. November 1 through 10. The box office will return to its normal hours of 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. beginning Monday, November 13. There is a six ticket limit per event for all orders.

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