The concert hall goes dark. From the back of the church, voices begin — plainchant, a cappella, carried only by the acoustics of the room. That is how Chanticleer often opens A Chanticleer Christmas, and the effect in a sanctuary built for sound is something concertgoers return for year after year.
On Friday, December 18, 2026, Chanticleer performs A Chanticleer Christmas at Fremont Presbyterian Church in East Sacramento. It is a single night only, with tickets available now through City Box Office.
What Chanticleer Is
Chanticleer is a twelve-voice all-male a cappella ensemble founded in San Francisco in 1978 by singer and musicologist Louis Botto. The name comes from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales — the rooster celebrated for his clear singing. Over nearly five decades the group has become one of the most acclaimed vocal ensembles working anywhere in the world.
They are Grammy Award winners, recognized for recordings including John Tavener’s Lamentations & Praises and the commissioned collection Colors of Love. They have sold over a million recordings and are routinely described by presenters as “an orchestra of voices” — a phrase that captures the range of what twelve singers at this level can actually do in a room.
Chanticleer began with Renaissance polyphony and has expanded in every direction since: classical and Baroque, gospel, spirituals, jazz, folk, and contemporary works they frequently commission themselves. The breadth is the point. This ensemble does not specialize in one tradition; it moves between centuries and languages within a single program.
What to Expect at A Chanticleer Christmas
The holiday program typically draws from medieval plainchant, Renaissance polyphony, German and Spanish carols, African American spirituals, and newer arrangements. Works are sung in English, Latin, German, Spanish, and Russian. Past performances have opened with a candlelit processional — singers entering from the back of the house in darkness — and have frequently closed with Franz Biebl’s Ave Maria, a twentieth-century setting that has become closely identified with the ensemble.
Chanticleer does not pre-announce the exact sequence for individual venue dates. The program is shaped to the space and audience; the lineup can shift across the tour. What is consistent is the quality of the blend: twelve voices spanning the full range from soprano to bass, performing without amplification in venues chosen for their acoustic properties. Fremont Presbyterian’s sanctuary — high-ceilinged, built for worship — is exactly the kind of room this repertoire rewards.
The concert runs approximately 90 minutes, though Chanticleer does not publish a runtime in advance. There is typically no intermission.
The Venue: Fremont Presbyterian Church
Fremont Presbyterian is located at 5770 Carlson Drive in East Sacramento, just off the American River Parkway. Surface parking is available on the church campus. The neighborhood is residential and easy to reach from Highway 50 or Business 80.
One important note for planning: the balcony sections at Fremont Presbyterian are accessible only by stairs. There is no elevator. If mobility is a consideration, select a main-floor seat when purchasing online, or contact the box office for assistance before buying. Wheelchair seating and companion seats are available — reach City Box Office at help@cityboxoffice.com to coordinate.
Plan to arrive by 6:30 PM. The venue box office opens one hour before showtime for will-call pickup and walk-up sales. The show begins at 7:00 PM.
The Details
- Date: Friday, December 18, 2026
- Time: 7:00 PM (venue box office opens at 6:00 PM)
- Venue: Fremont Presbyterian Church, 5770 Carlson Drive, Sacramento, CA 95819
- Tickets: General Admission $48 · Preferred $80 · Premier $98
- Buy tickets: cityboxoffice.com or call (415) 392-4400, Mon–Sat 11 AM–4 PM
- Accessibility: Balcony by stairs only; wheelchair seating available — email help@cityboxoffice.com before purchasing
More Holiday Music in Sacramento This December
If Chanticleer is your kind of evening, there are a few other strong options nearby on the calendar. The Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus performs Holiday HITS! on December 5 at Memorial Auditorium — two shows, choral voices, a very different energy than Chanticleer but equally committed to the season. The Glenn Miller Orchestra brings In the Christmas Mood to Memorial Auditorium on December 14 for classic big-band holiday fare. And if you want visual spectacle alongside the music, Sacramento Ballet’s Nutcracker runs through December 21 at The Sofia.
Bottom Line
A Chanticleer Christmas is one of the more unusual offerings in Sacramento’s December calendar: a world-caliber ensemble, one night, a church sanctuary with real acoustics, and a program that spans seven centuries of music in about 90 minutes. It is not a pops concert or a singalong. It is twelve singers at the absolute top of their craft, in a room that amplifies what they do.
Preferred and Premier seats in the center sections tend to sell out well before the date. General Admission at $48 is a reasonable entry point for this level of performance. If you are considering it, buy before December — the history of this tour suggests availability does not improve as the month gets closer.
