Witt’s holiday program now online
Tonight’s annual celebration will include current choirs and recorded performances dating to 1964.
“Lessons and Carols for Advent and Christmas,” Wittenberg University’s annual celebration of the holiday season, will go virtual in 2020 with a new approach, echoes of the past and a reflection of the present.
“My Song in the Night,” the 2020 theme, will address the fears and anxieties the COVID19
pandemic has caused with a message of hope when it’s presented at 7:30 p.m. today. It will be available on Wittenberg social media outlets.
Faced with doing things virtually, Wittenberg director of Choirs Erik Zinter worked with fellow music directors Kent Brooks and Andrew Jones under different conditions to present the program.
“It was important we could offer the Wittenberg and Springfield
communities something they look forward to every year. It will resemble the past, but acknowledge this year is different,” Zinter said.
Participants from this year’s groups include the Wittenberg Choir, the Wittenberg Singers, IMANI gospel choir and a lowbrass ensemble.
Undergraduate Kayla Spitzmiller and graduate student Mackenzie Moran complied and edited the video. A unique touch is the concert portion will include
recordings of past services, going as far back as 1964 and following decades, woven together with current students, who wore masks and were socially-distanced for their songs.
“It was a challenge,” said Zinter. “We had to rehearse in smaller groups of 15 or fewer and in masks. It does create issues with projections of sound and consonants.”
Breathing and annunciation were also challenging, and guidelines only allowed for 30-minute sessions. But Zinter said at least he had the students to work with and they got to work in the Weaver Chapel, were the program takes place live.
Songs will include “Only in Sleep,” the traditional carol, “I Wonder as I Wander,” performed by undergraduate Shante Leslie, who is studying remotely this year, and “My Song in the Night.” The latter song refers to Christ’s birth and the affirmation we celebrate at Christmas.
Popular Christmas songs include “Joy to the World,” “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “Silent Night,” which closed services the past five years.
Photos from past services will accompany the recordings. The readers will also represent different decades at Wittenberg, with choirs led by former conductors L. David Miller, John Williams and Don Busarow will be featured in the service.
“We want to create an atmosphere of hope. We are all part of a community and I hope people will see we can still find ways to connect to each other,” Zinter said.
For those who cannot view the presentation on tonight, it will remain available on Wittenberg social media sites for an extended period on demand.