As the holiday season approaches and the end of the year draws near, we often find ourselves turning to the traditions that bring us happiness and truly shape this time of year. It’s a season for gratitude and reflection, and gives us a chance to pause for a moment and appreciate the people who make our lives and community so special. That’s what the spirit of our holiday concert series IMAGINE: A Kids’ Christmas and IMAGINE: From Our Family to Yours is all about.
This message is a special one as Maestro Henry Cheng shares the music that fills his own holiday season and the stories behind the selections in his annual playlist. With that in heart, we are also delighted to share that, Maestro Henry’s holiday playlist was recently highlighted by Johns Creek City Lifestyle Magazine. Check out the article by clicking here!
The Playlist
1.) Corelli — Christmas Concerto (Pastorale)
2.) Tchaikovsky — Waltz of the Snowflakes (The Nutcracker)
3.) Caroline Shaw — In manus tuas
4.) Joe Hisaishi — Merry-Go-Round of Life
5.) Lauridsen — O Magnum Mysterium
6.) “Carol of the Bells” — Ukrainian Carol
7.) Ola Gjeilo — Northern Lights
8.) Pentatonix — That’s Christmas to Me
9.) John Lennon — Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
10.) Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson — Winter Song
11.) Judy Garland — Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
12.) Nat King Cole — The Christmas Song
13.) John Williams — Somewhere in My Memory
A Message from the Maestro
Every December, I find myself returning to the same question: What does this season really sound like? Not the season in a commercial sense, but the feeling of it. The quiet moments. The long memories. The familiar melodies that make our hearts slow down just a little. As we prepared for our JCSO holiday concert this year, I knew I wanted to create a playlist that did more than gather “holiday hits.” I wanted music that captured the spirit of our season theme— IMAGINE: What Can We Be Together?— and the deeper meaning behind our December concert, which is about respecting the legacies we inherited and dreaming about the legacies we will leave behind.
This playlist is not just a list of songs I like. It’s a small map of who we are as people, as families, as a community — and as an orchestra standing at the beginning of a new journey. When I hear Corelli’s Pastorale or the shimmering Waltz of the Snowflakes, I hear the roots of tradition. These are the sounds my earliest teachers handed to me: the “this is where we come from” of orchestral music. There’s a warmth to them, even a gentleness — like the glow of candlelight in a church you’ve known your whole life. Caroline Shaw and Joe Hisaishi live in a different emotional universe. Shaw gives us stillness. Hisaishi gives us imagination, family, memory, and a sense of magic. These are the modern traditions we’re already passing to new generations without even realizing it.
Our choral selections — Lauridsen, Gjeilo, and the Ukrainian Carol — speak to the communal side of the season. They remind me that music is one of the oldest ways a community breathes together. One phrase, one shared breath, and suddenly you’re not alone. Then there’s Pentatonix, Lennon, Bareilles — songs that aren’t classical, but absolutely essential. They remind me that holidays are not only festive but deeply human. They hold joy, longing, grief, nostalgia, hope — sometimes all at the same time. They reflect the world we live in now, the emotions our audiences carry with them into the concert hall. And of course, there are the classics that feel like they belong in every living room in America: Judy Garland and Nat King Cole. These are the songs that make people smile before the first note even finishes. They’re not just melodies — they’re memories.
Finally, there is John Williams’ “Somewhere in My Memory.” This one is personal. It’s part of my own childhood — one of the earliest pieces that made me understand music is a time machine. It carries us backward and forward at the same time. It reminds me how the holidays are often less about the present moment and more about the people we carry with us… even those who are no longer here.
That is what I want this year’s JCSO holiday concert to express: We honor where we came from. We cherish what we carry.And we imagine where we’re going next, together.
This season is not really about decorations or traditions or even songs. It’s about the people who sit beside us. The communities we build. The stories we’re continuing. The futures we dare to envision. And so, from my mind to yours — from my memories to the ones you hold most closely — I hope this playlist brings a spark of warmth, nostalgia, and imagination into your December.
Happy Holidays,
Henry