Gustavo Dudamel leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a magical program combining Tchaikovsky’s beloved holiday score with selections from Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s swinging Nutcracker Suite, including “Sugar Rum Cherry” and “Peanut Brittle Brigade.” The LA Phil will present the Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker in an arrangement for classical orchestra by jazz musician and composer Jeff Tyzik.

Dr. Brown-Montesano’s pre-concert lecture focuses on the extraordinary skills in orchestration that Tchaikovsky, Ellington, and Strayhorn brought to their scores, giving their “bands” music that delighted audiences and placed the musicians in the spotlight.

From the LA Phil: The Christmas Eve setting of Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker has helped it to become one of America’s most beloved Christmas traditions (we can thank the San Francisco Ballet of the 1940s), even though the composer had nothing of the sort in mind. By 1960, the potential appeal of updating Tchaikovsky’s score was obvious enough to a savvy musician like Duke Ellington.