Back in December, the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra celebrated its 53rd Annual Christmas Concert with an eclectic program of joyful music in the spirit of the season. Proceeds benefited the Greater Boston Food Bank.
In honor of America’s 250th Anniversary, Aardvark performed Shepherd’s Carol by Revolutionary War-era Boston composer William Billings, the African-American spiritual Go Tell It on the Mountain, and the lovely Cradle in Bethlehem, made famous by Nat King Cole.
The band premiered The Work, a new gospel-inflected piece by Aardvark founder and music director Mark Harvey. Aardvark also remembered jazz great Sheila Jordan, who performed and recorded Mark Harvey’s piece The Prophet on the band’s 25th Annual Christmas Concert. The Prophet is a tonal portrait of long-time activist Kip Tiernan, founder of the Greater Boston Food Bank, beneficiary of the evening’s concert.
Rounding out the program was an energetic arrangement of the 17th-century Advent hymn, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, first performed on Aardvark’s inaugural Christmas Concert in 1973 in the Church of the Covenant.
Date: Saturday, December 13, 2025, at 7:30 pm
Event: Aardvark Jazz Orchestra: 53rd Annual Christmas Benefit Concert
Location: Church of the Covenant, 67 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116
Proceeds benefited the Greater Boston Food Bank
Admission: $20 at the door. Information: 617-776-8778 or 617-947-5548