HECTOR HERNANDEZ | staff writer
photo | ROBIN FAWCETT
Seven of APU's music ensembles perform at a Christmas concert at Lake Avenue Church.


The School of Music wows at the annual "Celebrate Christmas."

The School of Music delivered the message of Christmas in ‘Celebrate Christmas’ at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena on Friday Nov. 30 and Sunday Dec. 2.

‘Celebrate Christmas’ is one of the music department’s largest concerts of the year as it features the majority of APUs performing ensembles. University Choir and Orchestra (UCO), Symphony Orchestra, Oratorio Choir, Men’s Chorale, Gospel Choir, Jazz Ensemble and Handbell Choir all participated, providing a unique opportunity for the audience and musicians alike to experience a variety of performances that glorified God through the Christmas message.

“One of our goals as the School of Music is to teach our students to do excellent music, and Christmas is a great time of the year because music is so central to celebrating Christmas,” Chair of Undergraduate Studies in the School of Music Rod Cathey said.

It took extensive work and organization to bring this program together this performance because the various performing groups practice separately from each other.
“For the latter half of this whole semester we have just been working on our Christmas songs. We didn’t come together, as all the ensembles together, our dress rehearsal and then we ran everything together pretty much the first time,” senior music major Rabekah Stewart said.

‘06 Alumna Rachel Kennedy has attended Celebrate Christmas three years.

“I think it’s always been really focused on what the whole Christmas celebration is about and why we are actually celebrating. It’s very God focused, very focused on what Christmas actually means and they get to express that through song and music which I think is fantastic,” Kennedy said.

Tom Taylor, who came to hear his son Michael Taylor, a member of the UCO, said he especially enjoyed the Symphony Orchestra’s performance of The Nutcracker and the Handbell choir.

“The most important thing to me is that it’s a very Godly atmosphere,” said. “It was very professional. It’s glorifying God in the fact that they’re doing the best that they possibly can.”

With everyone doing their best there were many unique performances including a surprise not placed on the program: Men’s Chorale’s humorous “12 ½ Days of Christmas” which they sang acting to be flustered by the lyrics.

“I think the best was the Men’s Chorale, third song. I loved the choreography. It was perfect,” Kennedy said.

The Handbell choir also made a couple of performances with a clear sound that rang true to the images of the Christmas season.

The Celebrate Christmas CD is a compilation of the many of the musical groups at the concert. It provides an opportunity to preserve the unique character of this year’s performances.

In the School of Music, the ensembles are always changing as new students are joining each year.

“For me the highpoint was ‘O Come, O Come Emanuel.’ It was just exquisite” Stewart said. “It was so beautiful, so subtle and wonderful.”

Just before the finale, the audience was asked to stand and sing along with the choirs in a medley of Christmas carols.

“We had rehearsed that piece a lot, but it’s so different when you actually sing it with a whole bunch of other people,” Stewart said. “At that point it doesn’t really matter how much you rehearsed you just get into the spirit of things.”

Considering the last minute organization, the concert made sure to keep God at the center of the celebration.

“We believe it was very successful,” Cathey said. “There’s a very strong talent base in our school of Music and we thank God for that. He’s blessed us tremendously.”