Holiday Gaiety
December 17, 2025
Overview
’Tis the season to be merry and gay! Naughty fun is guaranteed in this adult-themed holiday variety show filled with iconic guests like Peaches Christ, comedian Evan Mills, Adore Delano from RuPaul’s Drag Race, and Sasha Allen from The Voice.This program includes mature content.
Concert Extras
Throughout December, stroll through the winter wonderland of a decked-out Davies Symphony Hall, filled with giant lit trees, wreaths, and garlands. While you’re here, sip a gingerbread old-fashioned, toast with sparkling wine, enjoy holiday desserts, and swing by the hot-chocolate cart all month long.
Artists
Edwin Outwater
Conductor and Co-emcee
Peaches Christ
Co-emcee
Comedian
Vocalist
Vocalist and Actress
Sister Roma
Drag Performer
Drag Performer and Vocalist
Mezzo-soprano and Aerialist
San Francisco Symphony
Evan Mills
Sasha Allen
Adore Delano
Sapphira Cristál
Nikola Printz
Sister Roma
San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus
Evan Mills
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Comedian
A Second City Main Stage alumnus, Evan Mills has written and performed in three revues, winning a Jeff Award for Outstanding Performer in a Revue in 2023 for the show Don’t Quit Your Daydream. He was named one of the Chicago Tribune’s “Ten Best Theater Performances” in 2022 and 2023, was a Just For Laughs New Face of ’23, and was featured in the 2023 CBS Showcase. He makes his San Francisco Symphony debut with this performance.
Sasha Allen
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Vocalist
Sasha is a singer-songwriter and content creator who first gained national attention as a semi-finalist on The Voice Season 21. He recently released his debut EP Jawbreaker, introducing listeners to his unique sound and lyricism. Beyond music, Sasha has reached millions as a transgender activist and social media creator, building a dedicated community through LGBTQ+ advocacy and authenticity. Currently recording his debut album, Sasha continues to blend artistry with activism, using his platform to inspire, uplift, and connect with audiences worldwide. He makes his San Francisco Symphony debut with this performance.
Adore Delano
Vocalist and Actress
Adore Delano is a singer-songwriter and actress. She appeared as a contestant on American Idol in 2008 and later competed on the sixth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, placing in the final three, before returning for the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. In 2019, Adore was named as one of the “Top 10 Most Powerful Drag Queens in America” by New York Magazine. Her recent posts about her transition have garnered staggering numbers.
As a musician, Adore has recorded and released three studio albums as well as an EP, Dirty Laundry. With several songs and music videos reaching tens of millions of streams across Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube, Adore has solidified herself as a titan of drag music. Her music has also appeared on several television programs including Pretty Little Liars. Her most recent large-scale tour, Party Your World, spanned 50 cities including many sold out dates across three continents. Adore is thrilled to be starring in her first movie, HAG, which was shot in South Africa this past summer. She makes her San Francisco Symphony debut with this performance.
As a musician, Adore has recorded and released three studio albums as well as an EP, Dirty Laundry. With several songs and music videos reaching tens of millions of streams across Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube, Adore has solidified herself as a titan of drag music. Her music has also appeared on several television programs including Pretty Little Liars. Her most recent large-scale tour, Party Your World, spanned 50 cities including many sold out dates across three continents. Adore is thrilled to be starring in her first movie, HAG, which was shot in South Africa this past summer. She makes her San Francisco Symphony debut with this performance.
Sapphira Cristál
Drag Performer and Vocalist
Sapphira Cristál was runner-up and Miss Congeniality of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16, and is a classically trained opera singer, composer, and drag queen known for her theatrical lip syncs and six-octave range. She is renowned as a charismatic host who forges a special connection with her audiences. She makes her San Francisco Symphony debut with this performance.
Sapphira holds 16 pageant crowns and has performed globally. In 2024, she was a three-time guest artist in Madonna’s Celebration Tour, and she debuted her original operatic production, Soundcake, with Monét X Change and Thorgy Thor at Lincoln Center. Afterward, she brought her one-woman show, The Cristál Ball Tour, across North America.
Sapphira works to inspire young people through appearances at colleges, youth camps, and high schools. She taught several years of master classes in drag makeup and performance at Emerson College, and she has given artist talks at Rockland Community College. An experienced attitude and stage presence coach, Sapphira has also taught master classes at the Philadelphia Burlesque Academy and various dance studios.
Whenever she gets the chance, Sapphira partners with charitable organizations to raise funds to change people’s lives. Her personal credo is: “There is no better exercise for the heart than reaching down to lift someone up,” and she has made it her mission to uplift, encourage and inspire those around her.
Sapphira holds 16 pageant crowns and has performed globally. In 2024, she was a three-time guest artist in Madonna’s Celebration Tour, and she debuted her original operatic production, Soundcake, with Monét X Change and Thorgy Thor at Lincoln Center. Afterward, she brought her one-woman show, The Cristál Ball Tour, across North America.
Sapphira works to inspire young people through appearances at colleges, youth camps, and high schools. She taught several years of master classes in drag makeup and performance at Emerson College, and she has given artist talks at Rockland Community College. An experienced attitude and stage presence coach, Sapphira has also taught master classes at the Philadelphia Burlesque Academy and various dance studios.
Whenever she gets the chance, Sapphira partners with charitable organizations to raise funds to change people’s lives. Her personal credo is: “There is no better exercise for the heart than reaching down to lift someone up,” and she has made it her mission to uplift, encourage and inspire those around her.
Nikola Printz
Mezzo-soprano and Aerialist
Nikola Printz recently made their London debut performing in a concert presentation of Laura Karpman’s opera Balls at the Royal Festival Hall with Marin Alsop and the Philharmonia, after originating the role in the world premiere staged production by Opera Parallèle.
Their recent highlights at San Francisco Opera include the role of Jade Boucher and covering the lead role of Sister Helen Prejean in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking and singing the Alto Voice and covering Kundry in Parsifal. Additional appearances this season include a debut at Opéra de Lille in a production of Philip Glass’s Les Enfants terribles and a titular role debut as Handel’s Alcina with the Bay Area’s Festival Opera. They made their San Francisco Symphony debut in April 2016.
Past SF Opera performances include the titular role in Carmen Encounter and various featured roles during a two-year Adler Fellowship. Printz is the recipient of a 2025 Richard Tucker Career Grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation and the 2021 Schwabacher Debut Recital Award. They were also celebrated for their March Madness program—an exhilarating descent into identity, reinvention, and musical rebellion, performed at the Chan National Queer Arts Center. They are an accomplished aerialist, distinguished for designing, choreographing, and performing acrobatic opera productions in grand concert halls and smoky cabaret clubs across North America and internationally.
Their recent highlights at San Francisco Opera include the role of Jade Boucher and covering the lead role of Sister Helen Prejean in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking and singing the Alto Voice and covering Kundry in Parsifal. Additional appearances this season include a debut at Opéra de Lille in a production of Philip Glass’s Les Enfants terribles and a titular role debut as Handel’s Alcina with the Bay Area’s Festival Opera. They made their San Francisco Symphony debut in April 2016.
Past SF Opera performances include the titular role in Carmen Encounter and various featured roles during a two-year Adler Fellowship. Printz is the recipient of a 2025 Richard Tucker Career Grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation and the 2021 Schwabacher Debut Recital Award. They were also celebrated for their March Madness program—an exhilarating descent into identity, reinvention, and musical rebellion, performed at the Chan National Queer Arts Center. They are an accomplished aerialist, distinguished for designing, choreographing, and performing acrobatic opera productions in grand concert halls and smoky cabaret clubs across North America and internationally.
San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus
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San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus
Founded in 1978, SFGMC sparked a nationwide LGBTQ choral movement after its first public performance at a vigil on the steps of City Hall following the assassinations of Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. Since then, SFGMC has been embedded in the fabric of San Francisco. It has soothed souls in pain, lifted spirits in triumph, and has remained a steadfast beacon of hope. Under the leadership of executive director Chris Verdugo and artistic director Jacob Stensberg, SFGMC has established a heightened level of performance standards, bringing renewed audience and choral industry acclaim. Recent touring schedules, recordings, and outreach programs have broadened its impact and reputation in the community while maintaining its signature blend of humor, personality, and groundbreaking performances. In 2023, SFGMC opened a historic facility that has become its permanent home for rehearsals and offices. The building also serves as the Chan National Queer Arts Center, the first-ever community space for LGBTQ artists and arts organizations.
Jacob Stensberg, Artistic Director
Jacob Stensberg is an enthusiastic and energetic conductor and performer whose creative output centers core values including authenticity, connection, and compassion. He is the artistic director of the 250-voice San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and the Chan National Queer Arts Center. Prior to his appointment with SFGMC, he was the assistant director for Purdue Musical Organizations at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. In addition to his work at Purdue, Stensberg enjoyed working with Butler University choirs and orchestras, the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, the Circle City Chamber Choir, the Booth Tarkington Civic Theater, Zach&Zack Productions, BOBDIREX, the Eclectic Pond Theatre Company, and the Civic Theater of Lafayette.
Stensberg’s recent highlights with the SFGMC included a record-setting Holiday Spectacular, record-setting spring performances of Disney PRIDE in Concert, and his debut conducting the San Francisco Symphony in July 2023, in partnership with SFGMC. He earned a bachelor of music education at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and a master of music in conducting from Butler University.
Founded in 1978, SFGMC sparked a nationwide LGBTQ choral movement after its first public performance at a vigil on the steps of City Hall following the assassinations of Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. Since then, SFGMC has been embedded in the fabric of San Francisco. It has soothed souls in pain, lifted spirits in triumph, and has remained a steadfast beacon of hope. Under the leadership of executive director Chris Verdugo and artistic director Jacob Stensberg, SFGMC has established a heightened level of performance standards, bringing renewed audience and choral industry acclaim. Recent touring schedules, recordings, and outreach programs have broadened its impact and reputation in the community while maintaining its signature blend of humor, personality, and groundbreaking performances. In 2023, SFGMC opened a historic facility that has become its permanent home for rehearsals and offices. The building also serves as the Chan National Queer Arts Center, the first-ever community space for LGBTQ artists and arts organizations.
Jacob Stensberg, Artistic Director
Jacob Stensberg is an enthusiastic and energetic conductor and performer whose creative output centers core values including authenticity, connection, and compassion. He is the artistic director of the 250-voice San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and the Chan National Queer Arts Center. Prior to his appointment with SFGMC, he was the assistant director for Purdue Musical Organizations at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. In addition to his work at Purdue, Stensberg enjoyed working with Butler University choirs and orchestras, the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, the Circle City Chamber Choir, the Booth Tarkington Civic Theater, Zach&Zack Productions, BOBDIREX, the Eclectic Pond Theatre Company, and the Civic Theater of Lafayette.
Stensberg’s recent highlights with the SFGMC included a record-setting Holiday Spectacular, record-setting spring performances of Disney PRIDE in Concert, and his debut conducting the San Francisco Symphony in July 2023, in partnership with SFGMC. He earned a bachelor of music education at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and a master of music in conducting from Butler University.
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