🎄 Ellington’s Nutcracker & Tchaikovsky’s Winter Daydreams – Walt Disney Hall

🎄 Ellington’s Nutcracker & Tchaikovsky’s “Winter Daydreams” – Walt Disney Concert Hall

Los Angeles favorite Thomas Wilkins returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall with a festive, holiday-infused program you won’t want to miss.

In 1960, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn reimagined Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker through the lens of jazz—transforming the Sugar Plum Fairy into the sultry Sugar Rum Cherry and turning “The Dance of the Reed-Pipes” into the playful “Toot Toot Tootsie Toot.” Their ingenious jazz-ballet fusion became an instant American classic.

But Tchaikovsky also gets his full moment in the spotlight with his enchanting First Symphony, “Winter Daydreams.” Tchaikovsky affectionately called it “a sin of my sweet youth,” and its icy opening, dreamy winter landscapes, and final arrival into a bright spring make it one of his most tender and imaginative early works.

Between the two, we get Carlos Simon’s Four Black American Dances—a vibrant, rhythmically rich, and brilliantly inventive work that The Washington Post praised as “a testament to his talent as one of the most dynamic composers going.”

✨ If you missed our last two Walt Disney Concert Hall meetups—or if you want to experience it again—this is your holiday treat. Join me for a magical night at one of L.A.’s most iconic venues.

***

### 📅 Event Details

• Date: Saturday (a rare weekend concert!)
• Meetup Time: 6:30 PM — arrive early to find the group, mingle, and socialize
• Concert Time: 8:00 PM
• Duration: About 2 hours (including intermission)

### 🎟️ Tickets

• Group rate: $60 per person (tickets for this event typically range from $78 to $304.50; regular price for these seats is $112 — excellent deal!)
• Seats: Terrace E/W section (not balcony)
• VERY limited quantity available so we can sit together.
• RSVP + Payment required within 24 hours to secure your spot.
• Advance reservations are necessary.

***

Join me for a night of incredible music, holiday atmosphere, and great company at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Don’t wait—spots will go fast!

### Program

Carlos Simon – Four Black American Dances
Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn – The Nutcracker Suite
Intermission
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 1, “Winter Daydreams”

Walt Disney Concert Hall
111 S Grand Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90012

To sign up, please RSVP and submit a payment of $60.

You can submit your payment using any of the options provided below:

Zelle: 626-986-8593
Venmo: @Darren-Van-1
CashApp: $Darren515
Paypal: darrenvan515@gmail.com