Candlelight: Christmas Classics

Candlelight: Christmas Classics at Unity Temple on the Plaza

The holiday playlist takes on a new shape when Fountain City Quartet plays it on strings. Fountain City Quartet fills Unity Temple on the Plaza's Sanctuary with about sixty minutes of candlelit strings on December 19, 2026, mixing The Nutcracker's Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy with Greensleeves, Carol of the Bells, and O Holy Night beside warmer pop choices like Let It Snow, Feliz Navidad, and Wham's Last Christmas.

The program finds room for Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You between Anastasia's Once Upon a December and the Maestro theme from The Holiday. Variety and affection live side by side—the quartet pulls winter nostalgia out of old carols and film melodies, then touches late-century radio favorites without forcing the repertoire to match a single mood. That breadth gives the evening shape; different pieces speak to different corners of the season.

Flameless LED candles soften the sanctuary without waiting for daylight to fade. The instrumental string-quartet format puts familiar melodies—some formal, some playful—at the center. Candlelight gives the wide-ranging program a visual thread to match its mix of moods. The format lets each piece breathe. A winter evening spent among strings and candlelight answers the season quietly, with room for memory and calm.

Carols, pop and film favorites share the candlelit program; get tickets for Candlelight: Christmas Classics on December 19.