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Los Angeles, CA – October 24, 2025 – Today, acclaimed vocalist, licensed jet pilot, best-selling author, licensed psychotherapist, and theater producer Judy Whitmore has released her first-ever holiday album, Christmas. PRESS HERE to listen. The 12-song independent collection, produced, arranged, and conducted by seven-time GRAMMY®-nominated composer/arranger Chris Walden (Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand, Stevie Wonder), includes beautiful new versions of holiday standards accompanied by a full orchestra and choir, including “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “Kay Thompson’s Jingle Bells,” “Merry Christmas Darling,” and “Christmas Time Is Here” as well as Whitmore’s recent single, “The Ghosts of Christmas Past,” a sentimental holiday ballad written by Michael Orland and Jamie Wooten. Full track listing for Judy Whitmore’s Christmas below.
“I wanted the album to feature ‘contemporary’ Christmas songs, not Christmas carols, though we did include one traditional song…but it’s no ordinary Jingle Bells!” shares Whitmore. “I got a little tearful recording ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.’ I knew Hugh Martin, the composer, who was such a wonderful man. The recording session for this album was special to me in another way, too – I got to sing a duet with my brother, Billy. I hope these songs add to everyone’s holiday joy.”
Christmas – already described by Earmilk as, “a timeless and emotionally rich holiday album that speaks to the heart of the season with grace and sincerity” – was recorded at Evergreen Studios in Burbank, California with recording and mixing engineer Steve Genewick (Barbra Streisand, Michael Buble, Diana Krall) helming the boards. Featured musicians in the 40+ member orchestra include Josh Nelson (piano), Andrew Synowiec (guitar), Edwin Livington (bass), Ray Brinker (drums), Wade Culbreath (vibraphone), Jeff Driskill (woodwinds), Jacob Scesney (woodwinds), Kirsten Edkins (woodwinds), Glen Berger (woodwinds), Ken Fisher (woodwinds), Wayne Bergeron (trumpet), Kye Palmer (trumpet), Michael Stever (trumpet), Ray Monteiro (trumpet), Andy Martin (trombone), Alex Iles (trombone), Erik Hughes (trombone), Craig Gosnall (trombone), Laura Brenes (horn), Gayle Levant (harp), Charlie Bisharat (violin), Tamara Hatwan (violin), Songa Lee (violin), Grace Oh (violin), Josefina Vergara (violin), Jenny Takamatsu (violin), Bethany Mennemeyer (violin), Mark Cargill (violin), Natalie Leggett (violin), Luanne Homzy (violin), Wynton Grant (violin), Camille Miller (violin), Aiko Richter (violin), Erik Rynearson (viola), Luke Maurer (viola), Andrew McIntosh (viola), Leah Katz (viola), Linnea Powell (viola), Vanessa Freebairn-Smith (cello), Dennis Karmazyn (cello), Allan Hon (cello), Leah Hansen (cello), and David Mergen (cello). Choir members, under vocal contractor and choir director Fletcher Sheridan of Concord Vocal Services, include Vangie Gunn, Baraka May, Ann Sheridan, Sara Mann, Fletcher Sheridan, Jarrett Johnson, Trist Ethan Curless, David Loucks, and Reid Bruton.
Whitmore’s Christmas follows her fourth independent studio album, Let’s Fall In Love, released this past spring. The 12-track album, also produced and arranged by Walden, features a collection of romantic, love-themed standards that highlight Whitmore’s sophisticated, yet ineffably warm vocal work for which she has become known. Let’s Fall In Love continues to showcase Judy’s love and appreciation for the Great American Songbook with songs from George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and more. PRESS HERE to listen on Spotify and PRESS HERE to listen on YouTube.
Named after the legendary Judy Garland (a friend of her grandfather, who played violin in the MGM Studio Orchestra), Whitmore became infatuated with music and theater as a little girl and throughout her life has remained involved in the arts, from both the creative and philanthropic sectors. From singing in a Mamas & Papas-inspired band formed by Capitol Records, co-founding a cabaret group, producing independent theater, authoring award-winning books, building a private practice as a licensed psychotherapist, and piloting jets, Whitmore has always been motivated to challenge herself and continue to grow. But her lifelong love of music is what consistently drives her. In 2014, she built a bustling career as a solo performer and teamed up with producer John Sawoski and GRAMMY®-winning composer Michael Patterson to make her 2020 debut album, Can’t We Be Friends. The Southern California-based modern-day Renaissance woman has since released her critically acclaimed jazz album, Isn’t It Romantic, featuring award-winning pianist/conductor Tamir Hendelman (2022), Come Fly With Me (2024), and the aforementioned Let’s Fall In Love (2025), amassing millions of streams.
Judy Whitmore – Christmas Track Listing:
1. Kay Thompson’s Jingle Bells
2. Christmas Time Is Here
3. Snow
4. Merry Christmas Darling
5. Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season
6. Grown-up Christmas List
7. The Man With the Bag
8. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
9. Home For the Holidays
10. We Are Lights (duet with Billy Grubman)
11. The Christmas Waltz
12. The Ghosts of Christmas Past |
