Lessons and Carols at UMD

An annual tradition since 2001, our concert is inspired by the original format used at King's College. We aim to keep the spirit of the season at its core by using music that represents the readings.

Lessons and Carols tells the story of Christmas through biblical readings and music that illustrates birth, hope, anticipation, goodwill and joy. Every year, we use the readings from the original 1918 service.

Photo by UMD

The UMD Men's & Women's Choruses host the festival every year, but all our ensembles have performed at one point or another. This year, the University Chorale, MännerMusik, Femmes de Chanson, Palestrina Choir and our long-time partner, The Maryland State Boychoir join host choirs in their celebration

Join us for this beautiful tradition, and see what the Christmas spirit is all about.

Lessons and Carols, a brief history

First held on Christmas Eve 1918, A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols was conceived by Eric Milner-White, whom had been recently appointed Dean of King's College. An experienced army chaplain, Milner-White believed the Church of England needed more imaginative worship.

BBC first broadcast the service in 1928. With the exception of 1930, the service has been broadcast annually--even through World War II, when the King's chapel had no glass or heat. In the early 1930's, the BBC began broadcasting to millions of listeners worldwide

Join us for this timeless tradition Friday in the UMD Memorial Chapel!

#BachtotheKenCen -- Days 4, 5 and 6: Mit voll Lachens

Exhilarating!

Maestro Rilling requested we sit on stage while the orchestra was playing its solo pieces. We were nervous about this at first. If you've been to the KC, you've probably seen the gym-style bleachers. You know, the ones without backs:

                                                                        Photo by Andrew Bossi

Bach's music, however, made up for the discomfort. Maestro Rilling had beautiful interpretations, and seeing his dialogue with the players was fascinating.

Principal 2nd violinist Marissa Regni and principal oboist Nicholas Stovall delighted us with Bach's Concerto for Oboe and Violin. They were excellent! Audience members responded with thunderous applause.

Mark of a pro? Professionals, like Regni and Stovall, make excellence their starting point, not their end goal. They got better every night!

Maestro Rilling, the epitome of professionalism, conducted the entire program from memory. But, his tempi sped up a notch every night, so we had to watch closely to keep up with them

The fugue at the end of Cantata 63, "Höchster, schau in Granden an..." was a special moment. It's an a cappella passage that starts with altos on the theme while sopranos accompany them.

Maestro Rilling and us.

A beautiful moment of vulnerability that leads to an august reinstatement of the theme.

The audience roared every time Maestro Rilling acknowledged us. What an honor!

"I hope you continue to sing Bach's music," Maestro Rilling, passionate ambassador of Bach's music, said on our last night together. "Whether it be singing his soli, in chorus or... playing the trumpet."

#BachtotheKenCen -- Day 3: Bach on the risers

DC traffic is the wurst! Many of us were late to warm-up because there is no good way to get to the KC.

After we shook off the bad-traffic mood, Dr. Maclary rehearsed spots that needed extra attention.

We got to the concert hall and behold, risers! Being on stage was helpful because we had a strong harmonic context and were closer to Maestro Rilling.

He rehearsed selected parts after we ran the cantatas. Maestro Rilling is committed to bringing out the music's true meaning and shares valuable knowledge every time we rehearse.

Opening night should be exciting. Hope to see you there!

Never, soprani. Never.

Alles gute!

#BachtotheKenCen -- Day 2: We're back!

It's nice being at our home-away-from-home again.

After warming-up with Dr. Maclary, we made our way to the concert hall to begin rehearsal with Maestro Rilling and the orchestra.

There were no risers for us to stand on! So, NSO staff immediately guided us to the choir loft, where we rehearsed for the evening.

Remnant from Chamber Singers summer performances, Testudo's picture hung proudly next to the door that led into the loft.

We're singing this production in a four-row formation, but the KC's loft has two rows. We promptly re-arranged ourselves and began rehearsal in our temporary formation.

"It is very dangerous for this kind of music!" Maestro Rilling commented.

He continued to work on bringing out the music's meaning, but achieving rhythmic cohesiveness was also a primary objective of our rehearsal.

Rehearsal was good, but dress rehearsal will be great!

Auf wiedersehen!

#BachtotheKenCen -- Day 1: We meet again

We had our first rehearsal with Maestro Rilling Monday night. Many of us performed Elias with him in 2012, so seeing him again was exciting.

After an unfortunate 90-minute commute, Maestro Rilling finally arrived in College Park. But, his transportation hiccups continued because his driver couldn't find The Clarice. Poor maestro!

Humble and graceful, he made a quiet arrival, but was ready to make music. 

Maestro Rilling seemed excited to see Dr. Maclary--OBF buddies reunited at last!

"Very good! You have studied your music well," Maestro Rilling exclaimed after we ran our cantatas. 

We learned about style, form and text from our maestro, which gave us in-depth understanding of the pieces. He offers phenomenal leadership that inspires us to be better musicians.

This will be a great week!

BWV 105, Herr, gehe nicht ins gericht

Cantata 105 is from Bach’s “workshop period,” in which he wrote a new cantata for every Sunday and for every feast of the liturgical year.

Like many of his cantatas, 105 is a synthesis of diverse national styles and dance forms (e.g. a prelude and fugue for the opening chorus, a gavotte for the tenor aria). Unique to this cantata, however, is a clear narrative of a sinner's soul being put through God’s judgment, after which it emerges transformed.

At first, the sinner asks God be slow to judge (opening chorus), but soon realizes hiding is impossible (alto recitative) and trembles from fear of God's wrath (soprano aria).

But, in the second half, the soul is quietened, remembering the saving grace of its Savior (bass recitative), and accepts Jesus as a friend to leave behind earthly pleasures (tenor aria). The closing chorale confirms this calming sensation as the orchestra gradually slows from an anxious rhythm to a soothing tempo.

Bach scholar Alfred Dürr describes Cantata 105 as “the most sublime description of the soul in Christian art.”

If you would like to sing, join us in the Choral Rehearsal Room (2201) 12:15-1 PM for a brief rehearsal before the performance. You may pick up scores in advance in the Choral Office (2150).

Steven Seigart
DMA Candidate, Choral Conducting

Amazing

Sharada Weaver's (Northwestern CVPA Choir) reflection about her experience in the High School Choir Invitational:

"Being able to participate in this collaboration of choirs was a privilege. Every choir, every voice and every director have their own technique for singing, learning and teaching, so it’s difficult to assemble complex music when you meet the other music groups that day! At the end of the night, however, our hard work and dedication was shown immensely, igniting each choir’s diversity, vitality, and love for music. The wonderful directors challenged us to connect with the pieces we were singing to create a story for the audience.

In addition to the music we worked on, we had the opportunity to see the a part of the opera UMD students are performing! It was amazing to watch and learn from the singers, because of the great techniques they demonstrated.

I am very happy to be a part of a performing arts program, because I gain knowledge from amazing opportunities like this one. The choir invitational was an outstanding setting to absorb the talent University of Maryland holds. I hope there will be many more events to come that let us expand our minds, build ourselves to a higher level, challenge ourselves in music and grasp the value that music has."

College Professors

Students have worked with Dr. Maclary, Director of Choral Activites, and Dr. Elpus, Professor of Music Education, throughout the day.

Ben Simon and Sesha Kammula (Walter Johnson Madrigals) share their experiences working with UMD music faculty:

"We arrived early in the morning and we got right to rehearsing. Dr. Maclary greeted us and we jumped right into our first piece, "When David Heard." The sound was very impressive--echoing through the halls.

All five choirs created a powerful sound! After just 15 minutes, Dr. Maclary fixed our common mistakes and we were finally making music. We then worked with Dr. Elpus, who took us through Eric Whitacre's "A Boy and A Girl." Dr. Elpus helped us understand the true meaning behind the piece.

We've learned a lot throughout the day and greatly appreciate the opportunity to spend time with these college professors of music!"

The Dekelboum

Tonight's performance is in the  Dekelboum Concert Hall at The Clarice. Read Jeremiah Lee's, Oakland Mills Chamber Singers, experience in the hall:

"It was difficult to get used to it, but I now believe my director when she says we sound so much better than anywhere else.

Singing in such a great hall is so much fun! It was interesting not being able to hear myself, but what was more interesting is how well I can hear myself."

We're here!

From Julia Fedor, Marriotts Ridge Madrigal Singers:

We arrived early at Marriotts Ridge and gathered our belongings. We had bagels to hold us over on the bus ride over to UMD! Upon arriving on campus, rehearsal had already begun and we knew we had come to work hard. 

Warm-up began with different sounds to open our vowels and elongate our sound. Dr. Maclary reminded us to think of sinking into the sound while remaining high in pitch. This contrasting idea helped the choir visualize the sound he desired. We achieved that sound and continued the rehearsal with When David Heard. 

Dr. Maclary worked on the melodic and rhythmic emphasis of notes and how the accents don't always go on the vowels and words we assume they do. He also asked every part to determine where the stresses go and how correcting them would make dramatic changes to the choir's sound.

We also worked on A Boy and a Girl. Dr. Elpus directed it and worked on our tone, especially with the sopranos. He encouraged us to be warm and listen to the words because this would help us create a story and something for the audience to believe and see through our singing. He worked a lot on his ability to rhythmically express his freedom and told the choir he would never conduct the piece the same way every time.

Looking forward to the rest of today and learning more from these gifted conductors!

About the UMD Chamber Singers

Over the years, the group established a reputation as one of America's leading collegiate choral ensembles. Its repertoire spans from the 16th through the 21st centuries.

A frequent collaborator of the National Symphony Orchestra, the ensemble studies with renowned conductors such as Christoph Eschenbach, Helmuth Rilling, Iván Fischer, Marin Alsop and Matthew Halls. 

In 2011, the UMD Chamber Singers received the Premier Prix for Mixed Choirs and the Prix Ronsard for Renaissance Singing at the 40th Florilege Vocal de Tours in France.

This year, the group was one of only four ensembles representing the United States at the 10th World Symposium on Choral Music in Seoul, South Korea.

Suitland High School Chamber Choir--Le vent qui siffle

An integral part of Suitland's Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, the Suitland High School Chamber Choir is the school's principal choral ensemble. The ensemble specializes in diverse repertoire that spans from Persian chant in Farsi to contemporary American music.

In recent years, the group has performed in venues throughout the East Coast in events such as the Festival of Gold and Christmas in Washington.



Happy to see you, rams!

Oakland Mills High School Chamber Singers

Staffed primarily by upperclassmen, the OMHS Chamber Singers is the school's most active ensemble. In its three seasons, the ensemble has performed in the Roxbury Festival of New Jersey, won "Music in the Parks" competitions and toured the Midwest.

In Howard County, the Oakland Mills Chamber Singers performs annually at WBAL Kids Campaign to raise funds for charity.

Glad to have you here, Scorps!

Walter Johnson Madrigals

The Walter Johnson Madrigals is the school's most select choir. Students in the ensemble frequently win seats in county, all-state and national choirs. In addition to its in-school performances, the ensemble appears in prominent choral festivals and galas such as "Christmas in Washington."

Music Director, Kelly Butler, is a University of Maryland graduate. At UMD, she studied conducting with Edward Maclary and co-directed the University Chorale.


Welcome home, Kelly and WJHS Madrigals!

Northwestern Creative, Visual & Performing Arts Choir

Primarily composed of 10th-12th grade voice students, the CVPA Choir is Northwestern’s advanced choral ensemble. The group sings challenging repertoire in various foreign languages and regularly appears at venues such as the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC.

The CVPA Choir is frequently rated ‘superior’ at choral competitions and adjudications. In 2013, the group performed in the Ihomble Choral Festival in South Africa.



Welcome to UMD, Wildcats!

Marriotts Ridge High School Madrigal Singers

The Marriotts Ridge High School Madrigal Singers is the premiere choral ensemble at Marriotts Ridge High School. Comprised of 28 students, the group performs the highest level of choral music available.

Acclaimed for outstanding performances, the Mads frequently sing at venues such as the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, the Maryland Governor's mansion and the White House.


We're excited to have you in College Park, Mustangs!

What's the High School Choir Invitational?

Conceived in 2002, the High School Choir Invitational brings talented choirs from the DC metro area for a day of workshops, rehearsals and information sessions that culminate in an evening performance.

More than 2500 singers have participated in the Invitational. In addition to singing with the UMD Chamber Singers and University Chorale, guest choristers work with choral and voice faculty during their stay.

This year's Invitational features:

Marriotts Ridge High School (Marriottsville, MD)
Northwestern High School (Hyattsville, MD)
Oakland Mills High School (Columbia, MD)
Suitland High School (Forestville, MD)
Walter Johnson High School (Bethesda, MD)

See you November 5!

PS: Check out our first program--