A Jazz Christmas

4:00 PM, Sunday, December 7, 2025
Cab Calloway Theater
100 North DuPont Road
Wilmington, DE 19802

Wilson Somers Trio with Stan Slotter

• Highlighted Rhythm | Wilson G. Somers
• Santa Claus is Coming to Town | Fred Coots/Haven Gillespie
• A Child is Born | Thad Jones
• Winter Wonderland | Felix Bernard/Richard B. Smith
• Come home to Bethlehem | Wilson G. Somers, Leon Spencer, Vocalist
• O Holy Night | Cappeau/Adam/Dwight, Nicole Boysen, Vocalist; Joe Louden, Piano
• Love Can Change the World | Wilson G. Somers; Joan W. Somers; Joe Louden, Nicole Boysen and Leon Spencer, Vocalists
• Tyler W. Somers | Musical Selections

Wilson Somers Trio and Guests

• From the 2025 Lights and Wonders Project: (Piano/Bass)
• The Nearness of You | Hoagy Carmichael
• Lights and Wonders | Wilson G. Somers
• Almost like Being in Love | Lerner and Loewe
• Let it Snow | Sammy Cahn/Jule Stine
• Our Love is Here to Stay | George and Ira Gershwin, Joani Somers, Vocalist
• Avalon Pier at Christmas | Wilson G. Somers
• Blue Rondo a la Turk | Dave Brubeck
• White Christmas | Irving Berlin
• Encore: Take the A Train | Strayhorn/Ellington

Ministry of Caring, Wilmington, Delaware is the Beneficiary of A Jazz Christmas 2025

Delaware’s Ministry of Caring has been a fixture in Delaware’s homeless services community for decades, and an important beneficiary of Music With A Mission since its founding as Mass for the Homeless, Inc. in 1993, and for good reason.

The mission of The Ministry of Caring Inc. is, simply, to serve the needs of the poor with dignity, respect and love.

Incorporated April 27, 1977, in Wilmington, Delaware, the Ministry began with Mary Mother of Hope House.

The region’s first shelter for homeless and destitute women, continues its mission and now has served more than 7,000 residents.

The Ministry has added 18 other programs. Emmanuel Dining Room – welcoming the hungry at three sites, no questions asked – has provided 7+ million meals.

Their housing services now spans from emergency shelter to permanent housing. They provide safe, comfortable housing for men, women, women with children, adults with disabilities, those living with HIV/AIDS and our beloved seniors.

They also offer job placement and training, Rapid Rehousing services, affordable dentistry, low-cost high quality childcare and more. All of their programs aim to lift the poor, help them gain self-sufficiency, restore their self-worth and renew their hope. All they do grows from a shared belief in Founder Brother Ronald Giannone’s words that “the poor should never be treated poorly.”
 
Ultimately, they work to get rid of poverty, and to sustain and empower those who endure it now.  Nothing would be more pleasing to all associated with the ministry, as Brother Ronald has said since its earliest days, than to go out of business because poverty has been eliminated and they’re no longer needed.

2025 “A Jazz Christmas” Venue: The Cab Calloway Theatre

The Cab Calloway Theatre is the centerpiece facility of the Cab Calloway School of The Arts in Wilmington, Delaware. The concept of for the school was developed by a group of parents interested in providing their children with an excellent academic education infused with the arts. The group presented the idea to the Red Clay Consolidated School District, which
immediate supported the idea.

The community also embraced this endeavor, and several Delaware teachers took part in the creation of the school, including former CCSA teachers, Rich Hanel and Linda Emerick. Local arts and education activists were recruited to begin a Board of Directors for the school, and soon after, Cabella Calloway Langsam, Cab Calloway’s daughter, became the first Cab Calloway Fund board president.

The great Cab Calloway and his wife, Nuffie, moved to Delaware around the same time Cabella became involved with the school. He took an active interest in the mission of the school and was there to cut the ribbon at the grand opening in November, 1992 when school opened as the Creative and Performing Arts Middle School. One year later, the school was
officially renamed to honor Cab Calloway. Cab Calloway supported the school in multiple ways and took a particular interest in the “Grand Finale,” the event celebrating the conclusion of students’ middle school years. The high school program was added in 1997, and the first senior class graduated in June 2000. In 2023, CCSA celebrated its 30th anniversary.

The completely renovated 1,028 seat Cab Calloway performing arts theatre opened in 2014. The renovation of this space by Wilmington’s EDIS Company helped to transform the existing 1960’s era auditorium into a new state-of-the-art theatre, utilizing the latest audio, visual, and theatrical rigging technology and providing more legroom in the seating areas as well as space for wheelchairs and the addition of portable seats. A raised seating area was created at the rear of the theater to improve the sight lines and enhance the audiences’ experience. The house was reconfigured from four aisles to two and the ceilings include rows of tilted white “clouds” that absorb and reflect sound with more acoustical elements on the walls.

A new orchestra pit was created at the front of the stage and a pit filler system installed that allowed the stage to extend further into the audience to allow for more involvement during shows and performances. The catwalk system overhead allows for the safe operation of theatrical lighting and cameras during performances and for the maintenance of lighting, HVAC, electrical, and sprinkler systems. The areas behind the stage were also upgraded for better efficiency including spaces such as dressing rooms, lockers, storage areas, and a shop for the construction of larger sets.