Austen Hunzeker
Staff Writer
Thousands of people went to see the “Joy to the World” concert hosted by the Idaho State-Civic Symphony in collaboration with the ISU Chorus Choir, the Camerata Singers, and the ISU Children’s Chorus Friday and Saturday night at the Stephen’s Performing Arts Center.
The concert, which left many feeling the spirit of Christmas, featured music pieces from around the world, including a Christmas sing-a-long with the audience. The concert also featured the ISU Children’s Chorus Choir for the first time since 2014.
The show was presented by Jefferey Francom, director of choral activities at ISU, Nell Flanders, ISCS conductor and artistic director, and Sarah Davids, director of the ISU Children’s Chorus. The three also took turns conducting different musical pieces.
To begin, the packed theater went silent as the light in the room dimmed. The ISU Civic Choir and Camerata Singers entered holding candlelights and singing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” arranged by Barlow Bradford. “Polonaise” from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “Christmas Eve” was performed once the choir members arrived at their places on the stage.
“Hannukkah Festival Overture” by Lucas Richman, “Lully, Lulla, Lullay” by Philip Stopford, and “This Little Babe” from “A Ceremony of Carols” by Benjamin Britten were performed next, the audience’s applause following every musical number. “Three Noels” by Clare Grundman, which included “Christmas Hymn,” “Christmas Eve is Here,” and “Now We Sing of Christmas,” was also performed with the lyrics available for the audience to follow along in the program pamphlet.
The last performance before intermission was a gospel piece called “Shine the Light” by Raymond Wise. The performers swayed and clapped during the performance while the audience clapped along.
A Christmas sing-a-long followed the intermission with Gary Fry’s “Joyful Carols of Christmas,” which featured “Joy to the World,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” the lyrics also available in the program pamphlet. Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Dona Nobis Pacem” featuring soprano soloist Lorelei Dowland, “Silent Night” arranged by Barlow Bradford, and Gary Fry’s “Alleluia, Venite Gaudete” were performed leading up to the finale.
“My favorite piece from the night to conduct was ‘Lully, Lulla, Lullay,’” Dr. Francom said. “But my favorite piece to listen to was ‘Dona Nobis Pacem.’”
Francom went on to say that the two performances for “Lully, Lulla, Lullay” over the weekend were very different from each other. The choirs would specifically follow his conducting, regardless of whether his movements were different than last rehearsed or last performed, making it a pleasure to conduct.
Dr. Flanders shared that she was impressed by the turnout.
“Both nights were packed, I think even sold out,” Flanders said.
The audience was invited to join in on “Deck the Halls,” arranged by Randol Bass. Then Leroy Anderson’s “Bugler’s Holiday” featured trumpet soloists Eddie Ludema, Mackenzie Caress, and Enid McMahon.
Following a standing ovation from the crowd Friday night, a little surprise for audience members and staff alike was made in the form of a rendition of “Sleigh Ride.” The audience roared at the end of the show, some anonymous audience members sharing how they “truly felt the spirit of Christmas.”
