originally published: 12/07/2025
John Devlin conducting the PSO in 2024, photo by PSO staff
(PRINCETON, NJ) — The Princeton Symphony Orchestra’s (PSO’s) annual Holiday POPS! concert with carol sing-along returns on Saturday, December 13, 2025 with two performances at Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University. GRAMMY®-winner John Brancy and Kara Dugan lend their talents to seasonal melodies along with the spirited voices of the Princeton High School Choir. John Devlin returns to conduct the 3:00pm & 6:00pm performances.
Capturing all the magic of the season, the program offers works by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Felix Mendelssohn, George Frideric Handel, and Edward Elgar, as well as popular favorites such as Felix Bernard’s “Winter Wonderland,” Kim Gannon’s “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” and Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride.
Devlin said, “I love coming back to Princeton to conduct Holiday POPS! I look forward to immersing audiences in music of the season and hearing them join in during the joy-filled, sing-along portion of the program.”
John Devlin conducting Holiday POPS! in 2024, photo by PSO staff
Conductor John Gennaro Devlin is an ardent champion of American music, an innovator of concert design, and a thought leader in the field of classical music. As music director of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, Devlin is only the ninth conductor in its 90-year history to hold that title. He was named a recipient of the 2023 Georg Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award. His artistry and versatility make him a sought-after guest conductor with major orchestras across the nation. His engagements include performances with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Louisville Orchestra, the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony, the Omaha Symphony, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, and the American Repertory Ballet.
Kara Dugan, photo by Jacob Blickenstaff
Mezzo soprano Kara Dugan has been praised by The New York Times for her “vocal warmth and rich character.” She has made debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and Buffalo Philharmonic. She performed with the New World Symphony in the world premiere of Michael Tilson Thomas’ Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind and its New York premiere at Carnegie Hall, and has performed at venues ranging from National Sawdust to Alice Tully Hall. This summer season she sang at the Metropolitan Opera House in a seven-show run of American Ballet Theater’s production of Christopher Wheeldon and Joby Tablot’s Like Water for Chocolate. She received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, and is a proud recipient of the Novick Career Advancement Grant.
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John Brancy
GRAMMY®-winning baritone and New Jersey native John Brancy is a master with “mesmerizing tone,” says OperaWire. This powerhouse graduate of New York’s famed Juilliard School expertly performs across operatic and musical styles. Since winning the Marilyn Horne Song Competition in 2013, he’s performed multiple times at Carnegie Hall, most recently with MasterVoices in Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath as Al. He has also made debuts at Alice Tully Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and at Café Carlyle. He has headlined performances with leading orchestras and opera companies, including the LA Phil, San Francisco Symphony, Oper Frankfurt, Boston Symphony, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, and Opera Omaha, among others. While his career has taken him around the world, in New York he is known as the official anthem singer of Madison Square Garden for NY Rangers NHL Hockey home games.
Princeton High School Choir in 2024, photo by PSO Staff
The Princeton High School Choir has an unusually rich tradition of choral excellence that is unique among American high schools. The choir has performed extensively in North America and Europe, touring as representatives of Princeton, New Jersey, one of America’s most distinguished communities. One of five performing ensembles, the 85 members of the choir are selected after careful audition of nearly 250 voices in the high school’s choral program.
Tickets for Holiday POPS! range from $30-$110; Youths 3-17 receive a 50% discount with adult purchase; groups of 10 or receive a 20% discount. Visit the Princeton Symphony Orchestra website at princetonsymphony.org or call 609-497-0020.
The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is a cultural centerpiece of the Princeton community and one of New Jersey’s finest music organizations, a position established through performances of beloved masterworks, innovative music by living composers, and an extensive network of educational programs offered to area students free of charge. Led by Edward T. Cone Music Director Rossen Milanov, the PSO presents orchestral, pops, and chamber music programs of the highest artistic quality, supported by lectures and related events that supplement the concert experience. Its flagship summer program the Princeton Festival brings an array of performing arts and artists to Princeton during multiple weeks in June. Through PSO BRAVO!, the orchestra produces wide-reaching and impactful education programs in partnership with local schools and arts organizations that culminate in students attending a live orchestral performance. The only independent, professional orchestra to make its home in Princeton, the PSO performs at historic Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University.
The PSO receives considerable support from the Princeton community and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, regularly garnering NJSCA’s highest honor. Recognition of engaging residencies and concerts has come from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the PSO’s commitment to new music has been acknowledged with an ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming and a Copland Fund Award.
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