Christmas hymns and carols flowed from Memorial Chapel Dec. 6-8 as the University of Redlands’ School of Performing Arts held its 77th annual Feast of Lights celebration.
The Feast of Lights, which was started in 1947 by Professor J. William Jones, celebrates the season of Advent and shares the story of Jesus Christ’s birth through tableaux and music. One of the university’s major undertakings, the Feast of Lights is known to attract large crowds from both the local and more distant communities. Nearly 2,500 people attended this year’s event, many of whom were familiar faces.
This was the 17th Feast of Lights led by Director of Choral Activities Nicholle Andrews, who received the reins from Jeffery Rickard in 2007. It included a total of 158 student performers from the Chapel Singers, University Choir, Choral Union, University Orchestra, Brass Ensemble and Flute Choir. These ensembles were joined by an additional 21 members from the University of Redlands’ Youth Choir for the Sunday finale.
The 2-hour celebrations were held at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 6 and 7 and 4 p.m. on Dec. 8. They each opened with several musical scores and then a narration of the Christmas story by Reverend John Walsh, the emeritus chaplain. Tableaux figures outfitted as Gabriel the Angel, Mary, Joseph, the Shepherd and the Three Wise Men brought his words to life as they silently processed down the aisles and stood on the platform above the choir.
Paige Neuenswander ‘27, as Gabriel the Angel, stands stoically above the student performers during the Dec. 7 celebration. This occurred during the “Annunciation” portion of the program, where Gabriel the Angel told Mary about her duty of giving birth to Jesus Christ. 
Gabriel the Angel is joined by Joseph, Mary and the Shepherd during the Dec. 7 Feast of Lights. This referenced the “Birth in Bethlehem” portion of the program.
About halfway through the service, the Chapel was plunged into darkness for the Ceremony of Candle Lighting. From the flame of a singular candle near center stage, choir students cloaked in red illuminated candles surrounding the Chapel’s perimeter in a symbolic message of spreading Christ’s light throughout the world.
A student performer lights candles at the Dec. 7 celebration. This Ceremony of Candle Lighting involved the illumination of more than 500 candles. 
The Chapel shines brightly during the Ceremony of Candle Lighting at the Dec. 7 Feast of Lights. Audience members also participated in this portion of the program by turning on the tea lights they were given at the entrance.
At the conclusion of each event, the audience exited the Chapel to mingle with student performers and marvel at the live nativity scene made up of tableaux members.
The whole program was interspersed with 19 musical pieces and three congressional carols, where the audience joined the choir in singing “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “O Come, All Ye Faithful” and “Silent Night.” Andrews said that each year’s celebration features new music, as they strive to showcase the students’ work. This year’s Feast of Lights featured the premiere of “A Boy And His Drum,” a piece composed by Mena Williams ‘25.
An accomplished composer, Williams has roughly 10 years of experience and her pieces have been played by musicians both within and outside of the University of Redlands. She was also one of the 12 individuals selected to participate in the 2024 National Association of Teachers Mentoring Program for Composers. With guidance from mentor Tom Cipullo, she composed a 6-minute piece for the Cincinnati Song Initiative’s “Let it be New” digital concert series.
“It was very cool to see the piece performed,” Williams said. “The performers were amazing; I actually just recently used the recording of them performing the piece for applying to graduate school.”
After approaching Andrews about composing a piece for the 2025 Feast of Lights, Williams began working on “A Boy and His Drum” in April. Williams was then notified by Andrews within the first few weeks of school that plans had changed and her piece would be featured in this year’s program. She immediately got to work with edits, making a piano reduction score for the choir to read and doing some additional fine-tuning.
“This is the first time I’ve had a large ensemble work performed,” she said, “which is very exciting.”
The excitement was widespread among the performing students, who had been gearing up for the Feast of Lights for more than two months. Choir member Chloe Loken ‘27 said her favorite part of this holiday celebration is, in fact, such preparation and the relationships built amongst the student performers.
“I love the tradition,” Loken said. “It’s adapted with the times, and yet, at the same time, it still holds this sanctity.”
In reflecting on this year’s celebration, Andrews was very proud of how it went.
“We all agree that this year’s event was beautiful,” Andrews said. “Many attendees shared with the students that this was the best Feast they had ever attended.”
This was the third Feast of Lights for Mary Lou, a Redlands resident, who praised the program’s spirituality and musical quality.
“I just love the organ playing along with the whole orchestra,” she said. “When they do the crescendos and the drama of the voices, it’s just beautiful. It awakens a lot of spirit in you.”
Yucaipa resident Clem Hudson, whose sister-in-law was a Redlands alumni and had performed in the Feast of Lights, has been to at least eight celebrations.
“They’ve always done a fabulous job,” he said. “We have always enjoyed our time and we plan to come again.”
This sense of community is an integral part of the Feast of Lights, Andrews explained.
“When we’re all together on stage, sharing in the act of creating something much bigger than ourselves, there’s a deep sense of community and respect,” Andrews said.
Although coordinating all the behind-the-scenes functions poses a daunting challenge, Andrews said the Feast of Lights brings her great joy.
“Looking into the eyes of the students while they’re playing and singing is what makes me so grateful to be a professor and conductor,” she said. “Additionally, seeing the first-year students singing or playing alongside the seniors is a beautiful representation of passing the light from one generation to the next.”
With another successful Feast of Lights in the books, Andrews said she is looking forward to next year’s celebration and has already begun preparations.
Photos taken by McKenzie Rose
McKenzie Rose is a freshman at Redlands with interests in Environmental Studies and Journalism. She worked for the last three years as a freelance journalist with the Hermiston Herald, a newspaper near her hometown of Echo, Oregon. She is looking forward to covering the interesting, the exciting, and the intriguing happenings at the university for the Redlands Bulldog!
