School Ensemble Program Winter Recital

KIPP West Philadelphia Preparatory Charter School takes the stage at Commonwealth Plaza in The Kimmel Center on Thursday, December 17, for their winter recital. It's a student-led program, and the bill is a full one: the Honors Orchestra, the Concert Band, and the Bounce Band all perform, with musicians from grades 5 through 8 making up the groups. If you've got kids in the school, it's a natural night to show up; if not, it's still a good look at what these students have been working on throughout the term.

The recital is part of Ensemble Arts Philly's 2026 holiday programming, which runs across the city this season with classical music, gospel, jazz, Broadway and dance. It comes at a bit of a milestone for the venue, too: The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts marks its 25th anniversary this December. Since it opened in 2001, more than 10 million people have come through its doors, and this season music and artistic director Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads The Philadelphia Orchestra in Bach's Christmas Oratorio.

Commonwealth Plaza is a familiar spot for holiday music in Philadelphia. It's the same space that hosts the city's annual free Tuba Christmas, where more than 100 regional tuba, sousaphone and euphonium players gather to play holiday classics. This recital keeps that tradition of open, accessible music going in the same room.

The recital starts at 6 PM on December 17 at Commonwealth Plaza, inside The Kimmel Center at 300 South Broad Street. Admission is free.