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Fine Arts ensembles light up the stage for annual Maryville College Christmas Concert on Dec. 2

Nov. 19, 2025

Poster heralding the Dec. 2 Maryville College Christmas Concert

For Maryville College, the annual MC Christmas Concert is as traditional as putting cookies out for Santa, and just as sweet to witness. 

At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2, in the Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre of the Clayton Center for the Arts on the MC campus, the Orchestra at Maryville College, the Maryville College Community Chorus and the Maryville College Concert Choir — including the smaller ensembles Off Kilter, Lads and Lassies — will shine as bright as any Christmas tree during the annual holiday celebration that’s open to the community.

The Concert Choir will kick off the night with a performance of “A Ceremony of Carols” by Benjamin Britten, according to Stacey Wilner, director of choral activities at MC. 

“Benjamin Britten’s ‘A Ceremony of Carols’ is a choral work for voices and harp that blends medieval Old English poetry with Britten’s modern yet clear harmonic style,” Wilner said. “Composed during his voyage home to England in World War II, the piece celebrates the mystery of Christ’s birth through a sequence of carols framed by a Gregorian chant (a sacred song used in the Roman Catholic Church, sung without accompaniment).” 

Alternating between rhythmically exciting and contemplative movements, Britten’s setting captures the spiritual purity of the Christmas story, making it a timeless centerpiece of holiday choral repertoire, according to Wilner. During the song’s performance, Sasha Hoenie ‘26 will perform an interpretive dance choreographed to the music.

“A Ceremony of Carols” will be followed by the small ensembles, Off Kilter, Lads and Lassies, whose members will perform more traditional carol arrangements, such as “I Saw Three Ships,” arranged by Philip Stopford; “I Wonder as I Wander,” arranged by Jenny Robison; and “Go, Tell It on the Mountain,” arranged by James McKelvey.

Following a brief intermission, the Community Chorus and the Orchestra will lead a sing-along of carols such as “What Child Is This?,” “Joy to the World” and “Silent Night.”

“We will sing one selection apart from the singalong, entitled ‘Peace, Peace,’” Dr. Dwight Dockery ’05, the director of the Maryville College Community Chorus, said. “In addition to the text being an invitation to singing together, it foreshadows ‘Silent Night,’ the final carol of the evening.” 

This special sing-along moment will have all in attendance coming together to rejoice the start of the holiday season.

“By ending the concert with a Christmas sing-along, we hope to transform the concert into a shared experience, inviting everyone to become part of the music,” Wilner said. “Rather than listening from a distance, the audience joins in the act of creation — singing together, breathing together and feeling the rhythms and harmonies as one.

“This participation builds a powerful sense of community and optimism, reminding us that music is not only something to be performed, but something to be experienced. Especially at Christmas, a sing-along embodies the spirit of togetherness that lies at the heart of the season.” 

Throughout the performance, the Maryville College Concert Choir will process in and out of the theater by candlelight, adding an enhanced holiday atmosphere to the Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre. 

“Christmas represents a time of the year when music brings people together through the shared joy of tradition and storytelling,” Wilner said. “Christmas is also about connection and renewal: honoring centuries of sacred and folk holiday traditions, inspiring audiences with messages of peace and hope.”

This concert has been a beloved tradition for years, Dockery added, with people of all ages and musical preferences finding joy in this festive experience.   

“One of the most special things about this concert — and one of the reasons I think so many people get excited to attend it — is that it provides the opportunity for folks to hear from a variety of the musical ensembles at MC,” Dockery said. “Although it’s a lot of coordination to pull such an event off, especially given how many people’s schedules have to align, the result gives listeners variety and has something for just about everyone.”

Tickets are $20 plus tax for general admission and free for MC faculty, staff, and students, although a printed ticket from the Clayton Center box office is required for admission. For more information, call the box office at 865-981-8590.

— Written by McKenna Marr ’28

Maryville College is a nationally-ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges. For more than 200 years we’ve educated students to be giving citizens and gifted leaders, to study everything, so that they are prepared for anything — to address any problem, engage with any audience and launch successful careers right away. Located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville, Maryville College offers nearly 1,200  students from around the world both the beauty of a rural setting and the advantages of an urban center, as well as more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last. Today, our 10,000 alumni are living life strong of mind and brave of heart and are prepared, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”