Over 300 students performed to a sold-out crowd Sunday at the annual "Christmas with Wartburg" program in Neumann Auditorium. Photo by Brittany Feagans
BY ELLEN KURT ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Christmas music filled Neumann Auditorium this weekend as the choirs and bands celebrated Christmas with Wartburg. This year’s theme was “Christ’s Star: The Light of the World,” and every piece of the program had something to do with the theme.
“It’s the perfect beginning to the best season of the year, and that’s the Christmas Season. It has nothing to do with shopping, it has to do with the spirit, and so that spirit is a lot of fun when all the ensembles can come together,” Craig Hancock, director of the Wartburg College Concert Bands, said.
The first performance which included all of the ensembles, Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Wartburg Choir, Castle Singers, Ritterchor and St. Elizabeth Chorale was Thursday evening in Neumann Auditorium.
“I thought our first performance went really well. Everybody has worked hard. It’s nice when it all comes together like it did,” Jane Andrews, director of Castle Singers and St. Elizabeth Chorale, said.
Friday night Wartburg Choir, Castles Singers, and Wind Ensemble traveled to Nazareth Lutheran Church in Cedar Falls.
“The general public likes Christmas time with thewonderful feeling of Christ’s birth. They just love singing Christmas carols,” Hancock said.
Saturday, all of the ensembles traveled to Des Moines to perform in the Civic Center.
“Personally, I am in love with walking out on the stage in Des Moines. It is just such a cool atmosphere,” Hancock said.
Sunday was the final afternoon performance with a sold out crowd.
“We have a tradition and history that Wartburg Music is good, and so people like to come to see us,” Hancock said.
There were various pieces of music commissioned by Wartburg this year and arranged by Wartburg alumnus Josh Evanovich. These pieces included “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and “The First Noel.”
English composer Paul Ayers also wrote music that included each of the ensembles. This was made possible through support from the Ruth Weidler Drape ‘58 Music Fund.
“The thing about (Paul Ayers) that I found interesting is that he can write in a lot of different genres, meaning that he can write instrumental music and plain choral music, but he also has a bent for jazz, plus, he has a real sensitivity for women’s voices.
“Three or four years ago, I used some of his women’s pieces,” Andrews said.
Ayers also had the opportunity to write the finale, which included every ensemble involved in Christmas with Wartburg.
“He starts with the very lowest of the instruments and takes it up to the star. And he writes very idiomatically for instruments as well as voices which is something you don’t get a lot from composers,” Andrews said.
Ayers e-mailed Andrews about the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) doing a special on the “Messiah.” He wanted Andrews to send a DVD of the Castle Singers’ song that was arranged by Ayers entitled “And the Glory of the Lord.”
Andrews and Hancock agreed the most meaningful part of Christmas with Wartburg is seeing all of the students come together.