68th Annual The Singing Christmas Tree Special Guests

This year's special guests on The Singing Christmas Tree

We have lots of special talent this year on the tree!

Grey Seal Puppets

Grey Seal Puppets' thirty-year history includes three Citations of Excellence from UNIMA-USA, the President’s Award from the Puppeteers of America, and the Award for Leadership in Theatre from the NC Theatre Conference. Grey Seal also performs regularly on television with clients such as Bojangles’ Chicken, PBS, The Muppets, and The International Mission Board. Grey Seal has created characters for clients such as the Cartoon Network, Charlotte Knights, Charlotte Hornets, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, NASCAR Hall of Fame and many others. They will perform with the Charlotte Symphony on February 18, 2023 as part of their Lollipop Concert Series and also at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in April, 2023. Learn more about upcoming performances and projects at www.greysealpuppets.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @greysealpuppets. The performers are Vania Reckard and Drew Allison.

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Emmet Cahill

Emmet Cahill grew up in Mullingar County Westmeath, a small town in the midlands of Ireland. He has been hailed as ‘Ireland’s Most Exciting Young Tenor’ and has been touring North America for 11 years as lead singer of PBS phenomenon Celtic Thunder, recording 6 World billboard #1 albums. Emmet has performed concerts in over 80 cities across the US and Canada to date, and made a sell-out solo concert debut at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, to rave reviews.

At the special request of Cardinal Dolan, Emmet will perform at New York's St. Patricks Cathedral next March for the dignitaries and world leaders attending the St. Patrick's Day mass. He has performed concerts with prestigious orchestras such as the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, The Pittsburgh Symphony, as well as sold out concerts in some of North America’s most famous music venues. Emmet was recently voted ‘Irish Tenor of the Year‘ by the Irish American Music association and has performed multiple tours of North America and Australia as well as notable TV performances on The Today show, QVC television, and PBS networks throughout the country. www.emmetcahill.com

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Caroline Keller Band

Caroline Keller Band are storytellers at heart. Timeless melodies and thoughtful, reverent lyrics draws the listener in and transports them to another time and place. Their main goal with their songwriting is to be “Authentic”, both to themselves and to their audience. Strong songwriting and musical prowess brings the songs to life whether it is in a small, intimate venue or on one of the many larger stages that the band has performed on during its career.
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Caroline has paired with fellow songwriters and touring musicians John Christenbury and Clint Presley forming the "Caroline Keller Band." The band, at its core, are friends that have music running through their veins. They are adventurers, coffee drinkers, and lovers of traditional country music. Their sound has been described as "Traditional Country with an Americana flair". www.carolinekellermusic.com

Miller Street Dance Academy

Miller Street Dance Academy was founded in 1994 with the aim of providing quality, tasteful dance instruction in a positive environment. Our goal is to cultivate young dancers into well-rounded individuals, who have not only an appreciation for dance, but who reach for high achievement in academics and community service as well. Our instruction is diverse, age-appropriate, genuine, and fun in order to make sure each and every one of our students are well versed in various genres of dance. Equally important to dance technique, we strive to instill life skills like treating yourself and others with respect, how to be part of a team, and the importance of community service. We aim to inspire and shape our students to be better artists and people, both inside and outside of the studio.

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Charlotte Contemporary Ensemble

The Charlotte Contemporary Ensemble originated as a group of Charlotte- Mecklenburg Schools music instructors who organized in the fall of 1978 to discuss choral music being taught. Celebrating more than 40 years of choral performances, CCE presents a diverse repertoire, and has broad appeal and versatility, that is in constant demand. CCE has performed for the openings of the former Afro-American Cultural Center, the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Art + Culture, and the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, as well as collaborations with Carolina Voices, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Concerts in 2010, 2011, and 2015 and engagements at the Piccolo Spoleto Arts Festival in Charleston, SC in 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2012. www.ccensemble.org

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Northwest School of the Arts 8th Grade Chorus

This group has been singing under the direction of Mr. Aaron Lafreniere since they were in 6th Grade. In fact, when these singers were in 6th Grade, we were in remote school due to the pandemic. They have survived that and come out the other side much stronger. I am so proud of their accomplishments and their hard work to get us here. Performance Credits include: John Rutter's "Mass of the Children", Superior Rating at NCMEA Middle School Choral Large Ensemble MPA, and quarterly concerts at the school. Interested in attending Northwest School of the Arts?  Find out more information and schedule an audition here: nwsaauditions.com.

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Walsh Kelley School of Irish Dancing

The Walsh Kelley School of Irish Dancing was founded in 1998 and is run by Aine Walsh Kelley. The school is attended by more than 180 dancers throughout Charlotte, Greensboro, and Wilmington, NC, and Walsh Kelley School students range in age from four to adult. The school has performed at numerous local community events and competitions as well as national events, including the Southern Regional Championships, the North American Championships, the All-Ireland Championships and World Championships. For more information, visit www.walshkelleyschool.com

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Carolina Kids' Voices Tree Choir

Carolina Kids' Voices Tree Choir is composed of students from this past summer's Carolina Kids' Voices show choir camps, a program of Carolina Voices. The camps offer students an opportunity to hone their performance skills while learning about music, timing, dance, rhythms, and improvisation. They also provide a great place for children to build their self-confidence, self-esteem and other important life skills through music, movement, arts and crafts, and team building. Each week camp culminates in an amazing performance for family and friends. For more information about our 2023 summer camps, please visit www.carolinavoices.org.

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