Hallé Family Christmas Concert at The Bridgewater Hall

Johnny James, Managing Editor

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Hallé Family Christmas Concert

The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre
1 December 2024

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Image courtesy of The Hallé
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Is it that time of year already? An annual festive favourite is back with a bang as the Hallé take to The Bridgewater Hall for their family Christmas concert.

Join the Hallé elves and their presenter Pippa the Christmas Bat (known, the rest of the year, as Lucy Tuck) for a festive journey through family film scores, tinsel clad classics and seasonal orchestral favourites.

Not many people know that Santa has a special team of highly trained bats that guide him and his reindeer through the night sky on Christmas Eve. Pippa longs to join the ranks, but she needs some help to pass Santa’s test and make it onto the Special Bat Service!

With a helping hand from the audience, Pippa will bring the programme to life as the Hallé and the Hallé Youth Training Choir whirl through the standout musical moments of films like Frozen, Elf and The Snowman, plus festive has-do-be-dones like ‘It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year’ and ‘Carol of the Bells’. And would it really be Christmas without the ‘Waltz of the Flowers’ from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker?

Along the way, there’ll be bat-flying, waltzing and even some cartwheels, as Santa and his reindeer whizz through the night sky on Christmas Eve.

The concert starts at 11.30am, so it’s perfect for little ones, plus if you head over early (from 10am), you can join in all the reindeer games in The Bridgewater Hall foyer. Write your own Christmas carol, take an ‘Elfie’ in a photo booth with festive props, meet members of the orchestra and scoff a Santa-approved mince pie – all before heading into the auditorium for one of the festive concerts of the year. What’s not to like?

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