O Come All Ye Faithful:

Christmas Concert Set for Dec. 7,

Faculty/Staff Party for Dec. 20

By Rachel Adams

When Catholic University’s school of music and the choir of the national shrine adjacent to campus decided to combine their separate holiday concerts 11 years ago, neither group had any idea that the result would become such a popular December mainstay. The concert regularly packs the basilica’s upper church with standing-room-only crowds, drawing CUA students, faculty and staff, as well as a large number of D.C. residents.

Father O’Connell will lead the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Dec. 7 at 5:15 p.m.

On Friday, Dec. 7, this annual Christmas Concert for Charity in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception will begin at 8 p.m. This year’s concert will benefit an organization serving homeless women in Washington, D.C. At 5:15 p.m. that same day, the Very Rev. David M. O’Connell, C.M., President, will lead merrymakers in the annual lighting of the Christmas tree in front of McMahon Hall.

Concertgoers are advised to arrive at the basilica before 8 p.m., as the pews are known to fill up quickly.

Another Christmas event on campus is the President's Annual Christmas Party for all CUA faculty and staff, which takes place on Thursday, Dec. 20, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Caldwell Auditorium. Gift certificates from local businesses (Hecht’s, Macy’s, etc.) will be raffled off, and a big cocktail buffet — sandwiches, salads, soda and wine — will be served. The party is “a nice university community activity, one of the only times when all university faculty and staff come together,” says Suzanne McCarthy, special events coordinator in the Office of the President.

Catholic University’s symphony orchestra and a CUA/basilica chorus of 134 singers will perform at the annual Christmas concert.

“Washington is a very musical city,” says conductor Leo Nestor, whose CUA Chorus will play an integral role in the Dec. 7 concert at the basilica. “I think that our production is so well liked because we offer an old-fashioned Christmas concert. We give the public something traditional but elegant early in the season, before they get too sated with ‘Jingle Bells.’ And we will conclude with carols for the entire audience to sing with a symphony orchestra, a chorus of 134 singers and two organs.”

This year’s concert includes vocal and instrumental pieces by such composers as J.S. Bach, Wagner and Vaughan Williams, as well as a new composition by Professor Nestor and traditional carols and solo performances (see program below). The concert’s three-part format is made up of performances by the Choir of the Basilica, led by Director of Music Peter Latona, the CUA Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Piotr Gajewski, and the CUA Chorus, led by Professor Nestor.

This year’s concert will be recorded by the Catholic cable network EWTN and televised Sunday, Dec. 23, at 1:30 p.m.; Wednesday, Dec. 26, at 10 p.m.; and Saturday, Dec. 29, at 3 a.m. Locally, WHUT (Channel 32) will air the concert on Sunday, Dec. 23, at 9 p.m.

Although the event is free and open to the public, patrons are invited to make a donation to New Endeavors by Women, a Washington, D.C., organization that helps homeless women become self-sufficient through career training, transitional housing and self-esteem-building programs.

“This is a very busy time of year,” continues Nestor, “and the students in the chorus and orchestra really deserve credit for all the time and effort that they put into the concert. They’re all very excited about it. Our students balance performance with papers, juries and examinations.”

Program of the Christmas Concert for Charity

Advent Responsory – Johann Sebastian Bach/Richard Marlow

In dulci jubilo – Robert Lucas Pearsall

Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child – Kenneth Leighton

Nova, Nova: Ave fit ex Eva – Richard DeLong

Behold a Mystical Rose – Peter Latona

The Lamb – John Tavener

I Wonder as I Wander – Andrew Carter

The White Dove – Johannes Brahms

Make We Joy – David Morgan

Hodie Christus natus est – Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck

Siegfried Idyll – Richard Wagner

Adagio for Strings – Samuel Barber

Fanfare for Christmas Day – Martin Shaw

O beatum et sacrosanctum diem – Peter Philips

Fallt mit Danken, fallt mit Loben – Johann Sebastian Bach

Quelle est cette odeur agréable? – Leo Nestor (Première)

Wassail Song – Ralph Vaughan Williams

Three Carols – Peter Warlock