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!