Tusculum College is getting in the Christmas spirit with several events on campus.
On December 1, the Office of Student Affairs sponsored the decorating of a Christmas tree in the Living Room of the Niswonger Commons. Students make homemade ornaments to hang on the tree and enjoyed some holiday snacks.
The Tusculum College Band presented its Christmas concert at on December 6. Performing were the Brass Quintet, the Handbell Choir, the Jazz Band and the Concert Band in the auditorium of the Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Building.
The concert began with the Brass Quintet playing in the balcony and the Handbell Choir playing as they walked down the aisles to their places in front of the stage. The concert was in a seamless format with music played throughout.
The Handbell Choir performed such standards as “Jingle Bells” and join with the Concert Band for “Christmas Bells Overture,” On This Day Earth Shall Ring” and “Happy Christmas (War is Over).”
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” medley, “Christmas Fantasy for Jazz Band” and “And the Angels Swing” featured the Jazz Band.
The Concert Band performed such holiday pieces as the “Celtic Bell Carol,” “All is Calm,” “Appalachian Carol” and “An American Christmas.”
The Handbell Choir performs the "Christmas Bells Overture" with the Concert Band during the Christmas concert December 6.
The concert was by the direction of David Price, director of the music program and special events at Tusculum. Members of the Concert Band included Megan Gililland, Staci Knipp*, Addie Hancock*, Bailey Lawson, Shanice Lewis, Angel El, Katie Sadowski*, Alex McKay*, Tyler Bright*, Jeremy Dodson*,
Joshua Hickson, Bonnie Parks, Kayla Tipton, Ed Simanowski*,
Kristin Hensley*, Jack Lampley, Nathan Lee*, Erin Dewald*
Robert Arrowood*, Dylan Dhaene*, Joshua Davis, Tanner Malone, DeAydria McNair* and Chris Weems. Students marked with astericks are also members of the Jazz Band.
The Brass Quintet was Robert Arrowood, Jeremy Dodson, Kristin Hensley, Ed Simanowski and Kayla Tipton.
The Handbell Choir includes students Nathan Lee, Alex McKay and DeAydria McNair.
Color Guard members Corrine Absher, Katy Collins, Caitlin Curtis, Billi McKenzie, Jamie Rossman and Danielle Threet acted as ushered and Price was assisted in conducting by student Lauren Nancarrow.
Lessons and Carols were on Wednesday, December 7. The annual Christmas service in the lobby of the Thomas J. Garland Library features scripture readings and musical solos.
Readers included students Tom Klempin, Kirstie Gust, Alesha Buckner and Jason Gardner, Tusculum President Nancy B. Moody and several staff members. Vocal and musical performances were by staff members Jill Jones, Anne Osborne and Charles Tunstall.
The attendees at Lessons and Carols sing one of the congregational hyms during the annual Christmas worship service.
Two more Christmas events remain, an open house at the Doak House Museum and the Tusculum College Community Chorus concert.
The Doak House Museum will be open Saturday, December 10, for a Christmas open house.
The museum on the Tusculum College campus (690 Erwin Hwy.) will be open from noon to 3 p.m.
Free tours will be given of the museum, which was the early 19th century home of Tusculum College co-founder Rev. Samuel Witherspoon Doak and will be decorated for the holidays.
A storyteller will be entertaining at noon and at 2 p.m. There will be games and activities for children during the event.
Visitors can explore the Doak House Gift Shop and browse through holiday goodies, period toys and other gift ideas. Special discounts will be offered in the shop during the open house. Proceeds from sales in the gift shop support the museum’s events and programs. Refreshments will also be served, and there be a door prize drawing.
For more information, call 423-636-8554 or email lwalker@tusculum.edu.
The Tusculum College Community Chorus Christmas Concert will be at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, December 12. There is no admission charge for the concert, which will be in the Annie Hogan Byrd Auditorium.
The Tusculum College Community Chorus will perform traditional and classical anthems of the season in its annual Christmas concert on Monday, Dec. 12.
The chorus will present the concert, which is free and open to the public, at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Building on the Tusculum campus. The chorus is under the direction of conductor David Hendricksen and accompanied by James Winfree.
The chorus will be joined by the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra in presenting “Magnificat,” a setting of Mary’s song from the gospel of Luke by baroque composer Francesco Durante. Although this work was long attributed to Giovanni Pergolesi, more recent scholarship has established that Pergolesi’s teacher, Durante, actually composed it. Soloists for this work will be Jill Jones, Jody Palm, Phil Thwing and John Maddux.
The orchestra will also accompany the chorus in its traditional closing selection, “Still, Still, Still,” John Rutter’s “The Very Best Time of Year” and a short cantata by Dietrich Buxtehude, “In Dulci Jubilo.” This latter work uses the tune now commonly known as “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice.”
The choir will be joined by the orchestra’s concertmaster, Timothy Barrett, in presenting “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” and “Rejoice, Rejoice This Happy Morn.”
The remainder of the program will include carols from Germany, Austria, England and Mexico, as well as a setting of Simeon’s song, “Nunc Dimittis” by Alexander Gretchaninoff, featuring the low bass voices in the Russian Orthodox tradition.
Founded in 1996 as a way to involve singers from throughout the community in a broad range of sacred and secular repertoire, the Tusculum College Community Chorus has grown to more than 50 singers.