Susquehanna Chorale's Candlelight Christmas

Saturday, December 17, 2022 – 7:30 p.m. – Leffler Chapel and Performance Center, Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown

It’s Christmas—time to sound the trumpet, light the tree, and gather once again for a holiday celebration with the Susquehanna Chorale. The majestic opening processional, Personent Hodie, will set the stage for what promises to be a spectacular concert filled with wonder and joy.

The featured selection is John Rutter’s magnificent Gloria, scored for chorus, organ, brass, and percussion. This three-movement work captures the mood of the season with joyful exuberance contrasted with tender lyricism. The organ accompaniment will be rendered on the Musser Auditorium’s fabulous two-manual Clifford B. & Hazel K. Huffman Electronic Organ. If it were a pipe organ, it would have 1,930 pipes arranged in 33 ranks.

The reverence of the season will be captured in Jim Clements’ Gabriel’s Message and Eric Whitacre’s hauntingly beautiful Lux Aurumque. The Chorale will bring holiday cheer with Jerry Rubino’s setting of It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, and a whimsical, not-to-be-missed performance of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Traditional songs and carols follow, including an audience sing-along of Mack Wilberg’s Joy to the World with brass and organ. And, as lights are dimmed and candles glow, the Chorale will once again surround the audience for the traditional finale, Silent Night.

Come and experience the magic of a Susquehanna Chorale Candlelight Christmas.

The Candlelight Christmas concerts will be preceded by a 15-minute instrumental recital performed by the Messiah University Brass.