This year, a time-honored tradition sparking the holiday spirit for college and community continues with “Christmas at Presbyterian College 2023.”

The Department of Music’s annual Christmas program will premiere at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, in Belk Auditorium. A second matinee performance will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 3.

According to choral director and professor of music Dr. Christian Elser, this year’s show incorporates performers from nearly every corner of the college’s music. In addition to the PC Choir and the PC Orchestra, the show includes performances from:

• Bella Voce, the women’s choir
• The PC Jazz Band
• The college’s string and piano ensembles

Featured soloists include musical faculty members Dr. Jim Buckland on classical guitar and Dr. Richard Thomas on the cello. Student performers include Habana Rubio and Liliana Weathers, playing piano, and several vocal and instrumental solos sprinkled throughout the show.

Elser also promises a mix of secular and sacred holiday music and a variety of classical and popular pieces.

“If you love sacred Christmas music, you’re not going to be disappointed,” he said. “And if you like to hear ‘Carol of the Bells’ and ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas,’ you’re also going to enjoy it. We always like to add some congregational singing, as well, so ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’ is still going to open it and ‘O, Come All Ye Faithful’ is still going to close the show. That never changes – we’ve had that from day one.”

Elser said singers and instrumentalists began work on the program at the beginning of the fall semester in August and are eager to greet the community onstage and spark their holiday spirit.

“‘ Christmas at Presbyterian College’ really kicks off the season for me, too,” he said. “It’s a visceral experience. That’s what the performing arts are intended to be – to move someone.

“It’s important for people to see what we do here in the Department of Music, how integral music is to the human experience. I always say it kind of speaks to our common humanity. There’s a religious aspect to this, of course, because it’s Christmas, so people will feel very touched by that, as well.”

Tickets are available online at SeatYourself. Tickets are all general admission — $10 for the general public; $5 for all PC students, faculty, and staff; and $3 for all children under 12.