St. John's Church in Larchmont will play all six of Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concertos twice over the turn of the year: once on New Year's Eve, Thursday, December 31, from 6 to 9 p.m., and again on New Year's Day, Friday, January 1, 2027, from 3 to 6 p.m. Both evenings are part of Music in the Manor, the church's chamber music series, and tickets are $85, which covers the concert and a reception.

The New Year's Eve performance is new this season. The church has held a Brandenburg concert on New Year's Day for the past two years, in 2025 and 2026, and both sold out. Rather than squeeze more people into one afternoon, the series added a second date the night before, so the full program now runs on both ends of the holiday.

What is on the program

The six Brandenburg Concertos are a set of orchestral works Bach assembled and dedicated in 1721 to Christian Ludwig, the Margrave of Brandenburg, which is where the name comes from. Each one calls for a different combination of instruments, from strings alone to pairings with recorders, oboes, horns, a solo violin and a high trumpet, and the fifth gives the harpsichord an extended solo passage. Hearing all six in one sitting means hearing a different small orchestra in each piece.

At St. John's, the set is performed in full. Matthew Lewis, the church's organist and music director and the artistic director of the series, leads the ensemble from the harpsichord. The players are professional instrumentalists from the New York area whom Lewis brings in for the occasion.

The reception

Each date includes a reception with savory food, a dessert buffet, champagne and sparkling water, all covered by the ticket price. The New Year's Eve event ends at 9 p.m., early enough for anyone who has other plans later that night, and the New Year's Day event fills the late afternoon of the first day of 2027.

How to get tickets

Reservations are made through the Music in the Manor page on the St. John's website, where buyers choose either the New Year's Eve or the New Year's Day performance and the number of seats. Payment can be made online by card or PayPal. Anyone who would rather pay by check can mail one payable to St. John's Church, with Music in the Manor noted on it, to 4 Fountain Square, Larchmont, NY 10538. The church asks that checks arrive by December 18, or the reservation may be released. Earlier editions filled up ahead of time, and the church recommends booking early.

The rest of the season

The New Year concerts open the 2026 to 2027 season of the series, which carries the name of Paul-Martin Maki. Two more events follow in the spring.

  • Sunday, February 28, 2027: a benefit recital and reception in a private home on the water in Larchmont Manor, with violinist Pauline Kim Harris and Lewis at the piano. The program includes Bach's Sonata No. 3 in E for violin and harpsichord, the Chaconne from Bach's Partita No. 2 for solo violin, and the Scherzo-Tarantelle by Henryk Wieniawski. Entry for two comes with a donation to the series at the $500 Patron level or higher.
  • Sunday, May 2, 2027, at 2 p.m.: Trio Raconteur (violinist Amy Schroeder, cellist Felix Umansky and pianist Yalin Chi) performs both of Franz Schubert's piano trios in one afternoon. Schubert wrote the two trios in 1827, so the concert falls in their 200th anniversary year. Admission is a suggested $20 donation at the door, with no reservation needed.

The series is run by the Manor Music Society, a volunteer committee working with the church. Ticket sales cover only part of the cost of the concerts, and the rest comes from donors, who are listed in every program. Gifts can be made online or by mail, and the church notes that the money goes only to the concerts. Donors at the $2,500 Benefactor level and above receive two tickets to the February benefit and two tickets to one of the New Year performances.

Getting there

St. John's Church is at 4 Fountain Square in the village of Larchmont, in southern Westchester County. The Larchmont station on Metro-North's New Haven Line serves the village, with trains to and from Grand Central and stops up the Sound Shore toward Stamford. By car, Larchmont is reached from I-95 at the Chatsworth Avenue exit and from Boston Post Road (Route 1), which runs through the village. Concertgoers coming from elsewhere in Westchester on New Year's Eve should check the Metro-North holiday schedule before heading out, since service on December 31 and January 1 can differ from a normal weekday.

Questions about tickets or seating go to the church office at 914-834-2981 or office@stjohnslarchmont.org. The New Year's Eve concert runs from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, December 31, and the New Year's Day concert runs from 3 to 6 p.m. on Friday, January 1. Tickets are $85 each, and mailed checks should arrive by December 18.

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