On Friday, Dec. 3 at 7:00 p.m., Union Department of Music will host its annual Christmas concert, “A Union Christmas,” in the G.M. Savage Chapel.
In 2019, I participated in my first Union Christmas in the Jubilate choir. We performed songs both within and outside of the traditional Christmas repertoire. For example, we jammed out to “Jesus Oh What a Wonderful Child” by Mariah Carey, an upbeat, soulful and “vibey” modern song, and, of course, traditional Christmas carols like “Silent Night.”
Music students prepared for months for the performance, engaging in many, many hours of rehearsal. Some neat, small performance details were proposed just before the concert date, so we all made sure to work hard to memorize exactly how we were going to do things. One of these details was holding up candles in the chapel aisles and passing our flames to each other (they looked, as I found out just now after watching the livestream recording, like big stars against the LED lights on the Christmas tree, which was very fitting and “night-y”). Sweat was sweated, tears were shed, fingers were burned and one of us almost passed out. But in the end, the choir, orchestra, band and faculty, who read specific scripture passages that conveyed the story of Christmas, put together a beautiful musical performance in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
Rebekah Holland, a senior elementary education major, was a member of the choir last year. Though their preparation for the concert faced several uniquely 2020 challenges, they pulled off a great performance thanks to the help of their directors.
“We did one of our songs in Latin, which was really hard to learn, and it took weeks to memorize it,” Holland said. “But Dr. Kinchen gave us a backstory behind every song and told us the emotion we were supposed to convey behind every song, and it really helped us sing with purpose. He wanted us to glorify God and worship in our singing, and so it ended up being a very peaceful and worshipful time, too.”
This year, sophomore English and journalism double major and member of University Singers and Voices of Proclamation Eunice Tan invites people to attend the concert and prepare themselves for the Christmas spirit before the season. She says to expect songs that deviate from the usual Christmas-y vibe, but she wants to leave the specificities a surprise.
Expect well-rehearsed songs, beautiful instrumentation and dazzling effects in this year’s “A Union Christmas.” Come out and support students who have worked hard to prepare a relaxing and God-honoring end-of-year experience.
