Review: The New York Pops' MERRY AND BRIGHT ft. Jessica Vosk at Carnegie Hall Is a Holiday Treat

The New York Pops are always a delight to watch and this year’s holiday show, Merry and Bright, featuring guest vocalist Jessica Vosk, was no exception. The show, continuing the Pops’ annual holiday show tradition, played on Friday, December 20 and Saturday, December 21 at 8 pm. The Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall was decked out with an enormous wreath, setting the tone for a festive holiday show. They moved swiftly from song to song, opening with an instrumental medley played by the orchestra and moving into Jerry Herman’s bright and bouncy “We Need a Little Christmas” sung by the Essential Voices USA choir. Music director and conductor Steven Reineke’s arrangements on that number cleverly wove some snippets of carols in between Herman’s tuneful melody.

When Reineke introduced guest singer Jessica Vosk (Wicked), the crowd went wild. She opened with a lovely “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” Vosk’s magnetic personality charmed the audience. She connected with everyone from the parquet all the way up to the balcony, making Carnegie Hall feel more like an intimate room than the 3,000-seat auditorium it really is. She channeled the essence of Judy Garland all night, especially in numbers like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” which allowed her rich vocal range to shine.

The night was full of exuberant, high-energy numbers and special surprises. After the intermission, Vosk appeared in a brand-new outfit, a floor-length red dress that garnered its own applause. Santa Claus and one of his elves joined the stage and Vosk sang a jazzy “Man With the Bag.” Neil Patrick Harris made a special guest appearance to sing “Let It Snow / Winter Wonderland,” a track off of Vosk’s new Christmas album Sleigh, which they did in the style of Bing Crosby with plenty of hilarious “ad libs” interspersed throughout the deliciously rich vocals.

Reineke was in skillful command of the stage and the New York Pops orchestra, providing context when needed – he introduced a gorgeous orchestral number “Carol of the Bells” by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovich, noting that for the past three years he’s been honoring composers from that country as a sign of support and solidarity with everything going on there. He stepped down from the stage twice to let another conductor take the stand – once for a guest conductor, who had won that privilege in an auction at the Pops annual gala, who led the orchestra in a lovely rendition of Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” from the Nutcracker. Reineke later stepped down again so that Essential Voices Music Director and conductor Judith Clurman could lead the orchestra and chorus in her own song, “Eight Days of Light.” Reineke said he likes to dig a little deeper to find Hanukkah songs off the beaten path, and was thrilled to discover this one composed by Clurman, a haunting and gorgeous number with a mixture of Hebrew and English lyrics. The full Essential Voices chorus sang it in glorious harmony, backed by the full and rich orchestra.

Overall, the concert’s song selection did a beautiful job of balancing religious Christmas songs with secular and orchestral numbers; they mixed holiday standards and lesser-known songs that might become new favorites for some in the audience. The night ended with a sing-along medley where the audience was invited to join in, featuring stand-by classics like “Frosty the Snowman” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Santa and his elf came back onstage to sing along. The atmosphere in Carnegie Hall was truly joyous, with over 3,000 voices joining together as one to celebrate. With the Pops playing, December truly is the "most wonderful time of the year."

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The New York Pops return next year with Let’s Misbehave: The Songs of Cole Porter on February 7, 2025 and 100 Years of Epic Film Scores on March 14, 2025. Tickets are available on Carnegie Hall’s website.

Learn more about the New York Pops on their website.

The New York Pops also provide educational opportunities for children via Kids on Stage. Applications for middle school and high school students are currently open for 2025.

All photos by Genevieve Rafter Keddy. See her full set of photos from the night here.

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