Catawba College News Service

SALISBURY — Catawba College’s music department will mark the start of the holiday season with its 30th annual Service of Lessons and Carols.

The public is invited to attend the service in Omwake-Dearborn Chapel. Performances are Nov. 27 and 30. This year, tickets will not be distributed or required.

The Service of Lessons and Carols is based on the historic ritual that originated in 1918 at King’s College in Cambridge, England. Erick Milner-White, dean of King’s College and an Army chaplain, felt that a  more imaginative way of worship was needed by the Church of England.

The readings, prayers and hymns first used in 1918 are still used today to create a service that weaves carols of the season with scriptures or lessons relating to the story of Christmas from the prophecies to the mystery of the Holy Trinity.

Houses of worship, as well as colleges and universities, have placed their individual stamp on the service to reflect their own parish or student body.

At Catawba, the 2017 service will continue the tradition established by longtime music faculty member Rosemary Kinard. Choral selections will be a blend of traditional favorites and new arrangements. Benjamin Britten’s “This Little Babe,” sung by the women of the choir, and “Who Is He in Yonder Stall?” sung by the men of the choir, have become perennial favorites.

Steve Etters will lead the Catawba Chamber Brass in selections for brass and organ beginning at 6:30 p.m., 30 minutes before the start of the service. Prelude offerings will include traditional and contemporary music of the season.

The service will begin at 7 p.m. Several choral selections to be offered have a distinct Appalachian and Southern character. “Brightest and Best,” sung by the Catawba Singers, will be accompanied by a bluegrass ensemble of Catawba students.

In a reflection of Southern gospel heritage, the choir will perform a gospel arrangement of “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming,” accompanied by jazz saxophonists Seth Pittman and Elliott Miller.

Catawba freshman music education major Savannah Nunn of Lexington will be featured with her own arrangement of “Jesus, the Light of the World,” sung by the Catawba Singers with soloists.

Student conductors Katie Zobel and Gregory Florio will conduct two pieces. They conduct the various choirs in daily rehearsals.

The 75-minute service will feature the 80-voice Catawba College Singers and the smaller chamber and PopAC choirs. Readers for scripture lessons have been chosen from the faculty and staff of the college.

Accompanying the singers this year will be Jacob Hahn and Susan Trivette on piano and Steve Stringer on organ. Phillip E. Burgess, associate chairman of the music department and director of choral activities, will direct the ensembles. Kenneth W. Clapp, chaplain and senior vice president, will serve as worship leader.

For those who are unable to attend, Catawba will offer a live-stream broadcast of the Nov. 27 service on the college’s YouTube channel beginning with prelude music at 6:30 p.m.

Seating for as many as 700 in the Omwake-Dearborn Chapel on campus will be available each night beginning with prelude music at 6:30 p.m. and followed by the Service of Lessons and Carols at 7 p.m. Catawba will offer shuttle van service to and from the chapel for those who park at the Robertson College-Community Center, the Abernethy Physical Education or Ketner Hall on campus.

For more information, cal the Catawba Public Relations Office at 704-637-4396.