Music Department Presents Virtual Lessons and Carols Service

The Marist Music Department will present a virtual production of its annual Lessons and Carols service on Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. The concert is a tradition derived from a Christmas Eve liturgy first celebrated at King’s College Cambridge in 1918.

“We lend our voices and music to a greater good for Lessons and Carols,” Assistant Director of Music Michael Napolitano said. “So as long as one person finds that moment in our craft that feeds their soul, then it was all worth it.”   

Typically, preparations for Lessons and Carols begin over the summer and the service occurs off campus before winter break. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the department followed the guidance of the college and began planning for a virtual concert since early September. 

“We have an incredible set of student and alumni volunteers that are assisting with video compilation, editing and sound engineering,” Napolitano said. “The Marist Media Center has been amazing in lending their support to this initiative, and we are always happy to continue to bring this service to life with the help of Campus Ministry. We have also tried to incorporate our families, alumni members and other members of the Marist community into this service.” 

This year, the Lessons and Carols service provided challenges for the students of the chorus. Instead of singing together for a live audience, members of the chorus had to record themselves singing into a camera. The students weren’t able to practice with others in the chorus and had to rely on technologies like Zoom and live streaming to coordinate throughout the fall semester. 

“Sarah Williams, Bryan Lynch and the accompanist staff, who worked tirelessly to bring the mechanics and technique of music performance to life without being able to sing, still amaze me,” Napolitano said. “Segmented rehearsal periods, streamed live rehearsals and asynchronous learning experiences allowed instruction to happen without music, but having our students record from home without someone being able to coach them along the way is daunting. Thankfully, the students rose to the occasion.” 

The pandemic stopped and delayed many activities on campus this fall, but the Music Department fought to uphold the tradition of Lessons and Carols, working with many different departments and student groups. Time Check, Marist's all-male a cappella group, held practice sessions virtually this fall and collaborated online for their piece in the Lessons and Carols service.

“While all of the members in Time Check participate in Lessons and Carols in other ensembles, Time Check is traditionally not a featured group,” Time Check Director Maxwell O'Handley ‘21 said. “We are excited to have the opportunity to be featured this year. Though this year has had its challenges, we are extremely grateful to the music department for giving us this opportunity.”

 Dean Musto '21 created a storyboard for the presentation and helped the group's idea become reality. The audio component took approximately 20 hours to produce at home and was done by O'Handley and James Erlanger ‘22. 

“As a group, our main mission is to share music with the world in the hopes of providing comfort, joy, and happiness,” O'Handley said. “As we tackled this semester, we knew that we wanted to take any opportunity we could to do that. Lessons and Carols holds a special place in many of our hearts, so we were eager to help make it happen.”

One benefit of a virtual service is its widespread availability to the Marist community and the general public once published online. The service aimed to serve as an example of what the Marist community was able to accomplish during the fall semester in spite of the pandemic. 

“Hopefully, we can look back months and years from now and remember how we pulled together to celebrate the holiday season during this unprecedented time,” Napolitano said. “As we continue to live through this dark time, there’s a piece of light that lives on –– something that you can always go back and watch when you need to find some hope and some joy.”