The program, based on a traditional English service and begun at Wabash by the late Eric Dean, features Advent and Christmas scriptures read by members of the Wabash faculty, staff, and student body, as well as Christmas music sung by the congregation and performed by members of Wabash and community musical ensembles.
The Christmas Festival will feature traditional songs including O Come, All Ye Faithful, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Carol of the Bells, The First Noel, and several others. The Wabash Glee Club, T-Tones, String Quartet, and Brass Ensemble will be the featured performers.
Also performing for the evening is the Wamidan Ensemble, which will play African instruments and sing in Swahili. They will perform music along with local dancers, Caity Charles, Lyndsay Gobel, Sarah Handley, Chrissy Stevens, Anna Jean Templeton, Sophia Templeton, Darby Truax, and Wabash student, Julian Moreau.
David Kubiak, baritone, will perform a solo and Mitzi Westra, soprano, will perform with the T-Tones. Other singers include Sheila Evans, Richard Bowen, and Lawrence Bennett. Readers for the evening are Jonathan Baer, Michael Straub, Matthew Phelps, Rita Arthur, Eileen Bowen, Kip Chase, Paul Myhre, Bryan Gonzalez, John Van Nuys, and Anne Bost. Cheryl Everett and Rosemarie Hutcheson will serve as organists.
The traditional Christmas Festival is co-sponsored by the Music and Religion Departments. It is free and open to the public. A reception will follow the Festival in the Sparks Center.