On the fairly mild evening of December 17, 2024, our ESME Singers, conducted by Julia Chalfin, returned for our third appearance on the Munich Rathausbalkon (town hall balcony) to entertain the enthusiastic Glühwein-sipping audience gathered below at the Marienplatz Christkindlmarkt. We performed well-known carols, from “Joy to the World”, to “Deck the Hall” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”, as well as a few songs from our recent winter concert: the toe-tapping “Pan-a-Pan”, (once again accompanied by the Resident Alien Big Band’s Elaine Cole on flute and Thomas Eingartner on snare drum), the whimsical “Fum Fum Fantasy”, and the rousing choral version of Carly Simon’s “Let the River Run” (accompanied by our Singers unique percussionist Annie Janssen, keeping us on the beat with a box of Tic Tac mints lent to her by fellow alto Carly Russell!). We also shared the stage with a native Munich singer-songwriter, Ela Marion, whose unique numbers provided a nice contrast to our sound. A fine time was had by all, and we were so honoured to once again make the cut in a such prestigious and beloved Munich Advent tradition. Special thanks go to the Singers hard working soprano Eva Netzhammer for organizing this noteworthy event, a perfect way to cap off both a successful season and year for ESME! We wish you all – our members and our fans – the happiest of holidays, and look forward to a well-deserved break before launching back into rehearsals in January 2025.