Calvin Johnson to host third annual Christmas concert at Trinity Episcopal Church

(courtesy of New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity)

Trinity Episcopal Church will host the third annual Christmas concert for local sax player and bandleader Calvin Johnson, this Sunday, December 20. The Christmas concert titled “Calvin Johnson with Strings Winter Wonder Jam: a Benefit for New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity” is free and will feature special guests Glen David Andrews and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

The concert takes place at the Trinity Episcopal Church, located on 1329 Jackson Avenue. Doors open for 5 p.m., and the show begins at 5:30 p.m. With a 10-member ensemble, Johnson will perform classic Christmas songs with a New Orleans twist, and the concert will benefit nonprofit organization New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity.

Representatives from New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity (NOAHH) will be accepting donations during the program.

For more information, see the full press release below by New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity:

“Calvin Johnson will host a Christmas concert titled “Calvin Johnson with Strings Winter Wonder Jam: A Benefit for New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity” at Trinity Episcopal Church (1329 Jackson Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130) on Sunday, December 20, 2015, at 5 PM. The concert is free and open to the public, and representatives from New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity (NOAHH) will request donations during the program. WWOZ will broadcast the concert live on 90.7 FM in New Orleans and online at http://www.wwoz.org/listen/player.

The concert features Calvin Johnson (bandleader, arranger, and saxophone) with a 10-member ensemble, performing classic Christmas tunes with a New Orleans twist. The band includes Kyle Roussel, Kerry Lewis, and Raymond Weber Jr, among others. Special guests include Glen David Andrews and one other TBA. The audience can expect a 75-minute musical program.

‘New Orleans, and Habitat for Humanity, have given me so much,’ Calvin says. ‘Habitat helped me come home to New Orleans by making homeownership possible. This is my thank you gift to the city, and to everyone at NOAHH.’

New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, an independent affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that has built more than 500 new homes for low-income families in need since its inception in 1983. NOAHH builds new houses in partnership with sponsors, volunteers, communities, and homeowner families to eliminate poverty housing. Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, NOAHH has hosted more than 150,000 volunteers who built over 440 new homes, gutted over 2,400 flooded homes, attacked blight properties, partnered to cultivate 36 urban gardens and made urgently needed repairs for over 100 elderly or disabled property owners in need. For more information: www.habitat-nola.org.

Calvin A. Johnson Jr, is a saxophonist, composer, and bandleader born and raised in New Orleans. He comes from a family of musicians going back three generations, and is a proud member of NOCCA’s class of 2003. Calvin has toured with Harry Connick Jr., the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and has performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City and the White House, as well as regular performances at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

For more information contact Max Hass at mth089@gmail.com, or visit CalvinJohnsonMusic.com. Anyone interested in donating to Habitat in advance, or in lieu, of attending the concert can do so by visiting DonateNola.org.”