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Join us for an unforgettable celebration with music by Bach and words by Selma Lagerlöf!

Every year, Concerto Copenhagen’s Christmas concerts offer something special – a moment to pause, reflect, and feel deeply connected to the season. This December, we bring together the timeless beauty of Johann Sebastian Bach’s festive cantatas with the touching spiritual stories of Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf.

✨ Expect radiant baroque instruments, four internationally acclaimed soloists, and the magical voice of actor Emil Knutzon, who brings Lagerlöf’s Christ Legends to life between the music. Together, music and storytelling create a moving and imaginative world – where the divine is found not only in heaven, but also in the ordinary moments of life.

This year, we return to Helsingør and Copenhagen – and, for the first time, bring our Christmas spirit to Kolding. The response has been overwhelming, and due to high demand, we’ve added a second performance in Copenhagen.

📍 Helsingør, 18 Dec | Kolding, 19 Dec | Copenhagen, 20 + 21 Dec
More info and tickets here: https://coco.dk/serie/cocos-julekoncerter-2025/

🎁 AN EARLY CHRISTMAS GIFT FROM CONCERTO COPENHAGEN! 🎁
We want to thank our most dedicated listeners with something special this season:

🔹 Free Access Members
Get 20% off your Christmas concert tickets using the code SLEEVE20

🔹 Circle Members (Backstage Pass)
Enjoy 30% off – you’ll receive a personal email with your exclusive code

🔹 Inner Circle Members (Full Access)
As part of your membership, you can book 2 free tickets to one of our Christmas concerts. Keep an eye on your inbox for your access code.

✨ Please note: All offers are valid only while tickets are available – so don’t wait too long!

Before Swing Noire was a band, it was a series of acoustic jams... Jared on mandolin with Rob and Jim McCuen on guitar and bass, trading licks and late-night laughs over stringband tunes inspired by Uncommon Ritual by Edgar Meyer, Béla Fleck, and Mike Marshall. We were deep into bluegrass and new acoustic music back then, until the pull of the Grappelli / Grisman album was too much and the door to Gypsy jazz swung wide open. It was a gateway to Django and all of the contemporary artists keeping the style alive.

Once we started listening to Django, there was no going back. Jared got obsessed... studying the art of la pompe (that driving Gypsy rhythm) and soaking up everything he could. Around that time, fate handed us a connection: Jared’s brother and sister-in-law were old friends with violinist David Gusakov. We’d spend holidays together, trading music talk after dinner. Eventually Jared got up the nerve to ask David if he’d want to play.

That one question turned into a year in David’s studio... fueled by beer, popcorn, and a shared love for this wild, elegant music. We workshopped our favorite tunes, deliberated over arrangements, and slowly found our own sound. When it finally clicked, we started to play out.

We played jazz festivals, cafés, and dance halls across Vermont and beyond... the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, First Night Burlington, Town Hall Theatre in Middlebury, Hen of the Wood in Waterbury, The Ball and Chain in Brandon, Vergennes Opera House, The Starry Night Café in Ferrisburgh, and rooms like Radio Bean, The Skinny Pancake, The Black Door, Langdon Street Café, 51 Main, Two Brothers Tavern, and more. Every room had its own story.

We’ll be sharing some of those moments here... live recordings, videos, and photos from those early days when the band was finding its footing and the swing was just starting to take hold.

After a long stretch away (Jared spent about a decade out of state), we reunited when he moved back to Vermont. It felt like no time had passed... the groove was still there, the friendship still easy, the music still alive.

Here’s a video from that reunion era... our take on “Blue Drag”, filmed live at Chandler Music Hall in Randolph around 2011.

new full moon ritual

Here’s my newest piece.

It’s watercolor on paper, oak frame.
Part of my Worlds Within Worlds collection.

I’m excited about a monthly art drop. I’ve been looking forward.

It’s not always like that, sometimes it just feels normal to share my work.
And then it’s kind of nothing. An endless feed, nothing’s special.

But that’s what rituals do, and I think we need those.

What do you think?

Talk soon,
A

PS. Feel free to let me know what you see or what it makes you feel <3