Over the past few weeks, Tabor Academy choral groups have been preparing for what is perhaps the most exciting and festive school event of the holiday season.
“Lessons and Carols” is coming up, and students have been rehearsing and singing to make this annual tradition as magical and entertaining as ever. The service, which will be held on Sunday, December 14, is one that always helps kick off the holiday season.
Mr. Bruce Cobbold, who retired last spring after 48 years of service, began Lessons and Carols in 1980. Cobbold remained the presider of Lessons and Carols throughout his tenure at the academy. The mission of Lessons and Carols is to share the Christmas story through readings and caroling.
The tradition has evolved over the years, with its key message remaining the same. The songs and readings that are sung and read have varied, but the goal of the service has remained unchanged.
Six choral groups will perform at the service and one singer is featured as a soloist in the first carol. This is an honor for the chosen performer and is traditionally left a secret until the final rehearsal.
Allie Dawson, a recent Tabor graduate, sung in Lessons and Carols for all four years of her Tabor career.
“I was able to really track my own growth as a performer and as a singer through the performance each year,” said Dawson. She recalls the event as one that singers and audience members treated with great respect.
David Horne, an organist and choral teacher at Tabor, has composed a piece “Gloria caritas, pax et amor,” for this year’s service. The text of “Gloria” is set to music and the Tabor singers have been learning and rehearsing it, which was put together in the fall. This song is a seasonal one and is intended to lack a religious nature given that Tabor is non-denominational.
The service includes pieces from a number of different religious backgrounds rather than solely of Christian origin. This piece will run parallel with the peaceful theme of the service.
“There are few things at Tabor that meant as much to me as Lessons and Carols did,” said Dawson. “I am incredibly excited to return to the chapel to see it this year, and I know I will be both proud and humbled to see it as an audience member for the first time.”
The public is invited to this event at 7:30 pm on December 14 in the Wickenden Chapel.
By Julia O’Rourke
