Southwestern kicks off holiday season with fifth annual ‘Prelude to Christmas’ concert

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Texas Baptist College (TBC) ushered in the Christmas season on campus with its annual Prelude to Christmas concerts, Nov. 14 and 15, drawing the seminary community and beyond together for an evening of choral and orchestral music centered on the birth of Christ.

“We love at Southwestern and Texas Baptist College to be the first to wish you and yours, ‘Merry Christmas,’” said Joe Crider, dean of the School of Church Music and Worship (SCMW), while welcoming the crowd gathered on Nov. 14 in MacGorman Chapel.

“We are thankful to God that you are here, we appreciate your support, and hope that you’ll enjoy this very special evening,” said David S. Dockery, president of Southwestern, addressing the audience. “It is the gift of the seminary to you.”

The theme of the concert, “Prepare Him Room,” centered around the passage in Luke 2 in which Mary and Joseph are searching for a place where she might give birth to Jesus, eventually ending up in the stable when the inn is full.

“Our hope is to encourage people to make room in their heart for Christ, for the Christ of Christmas, not just the busy-ness of the season,” said Chuck Lewis, associate dean of the SCMW. “… That ultimately, we would make room in our heart for Christ and for His rule and reign in our lives.”

The concert featured a variety of performances including traditional, contemporary, and even some electric rock, all performed by more than 20 different musical groups associated with Southwestern and TBC, including Southwestern A Cappella, Cowden Hall Band, Southwestern Piano Ensemble, Cantico Nuevo, TBC Band and Choir, the Southwestern Singers, the Men’s and Women’s Choruses, and others.

The first section of the program opened the concert with classic hymns and carols, including Sleep Little Jesus, performed by the Southwestern Music Academy’s Children’s Choir, Carol of the Bells played on an orchestra of electric guitars, and a performance of The Little Drummer Boy led by Southwestern’s “Drummer Guys” drumline.

New to this year’s concert, the drumline was organized by Aiden Maynard of Justin, Texas, a student in the five-year program pursuing his Bachelor of Music and Worship, who also coaches high school drumlines in the area.

Expounding on the importance of the theme were performances of Come, Adore the Humble King, by the TBC Band, Do You Have Room?, and Mary Did You Know?, partially arranged and vocalized by Shanchuiphy Keishing, a student from India pursuing her Master of Music in Worship and Pedagogy, who also put her own band together for the performance.

“It’s breathtaking,” said Lewis. Shanchuiphy “sings with her heart, which is different than just singing with your voice. She sings with her heart to the glory of the Lord.”

The concert, which had almost 4,000 tickets reserved between the two performances, brought the spirit of Christmas and the passage of Luke 2 to the forefront of the congregation’s minds. Concluding with a mass chorus medley of Oh Come, All Ye Faithful and Only a Holy God.

Both Lewis and Crider said they were exceptionally pleased with the performances by the SCMW students, praising their efforts and time committed to putting on a remarkable show.

Lewis cited the candlelit a cappella performance of Come, Messiah King, which saw the aisles of MacGorman fill with singers holding candles.

“I think one of my favorite times is during the candle march, when all the students are in the aisles and they sing a capella. It’s just them. It’s just, it’s beautiful,” Lewis said. “…All of our students have done amazing, and it’s hard to pick favorites.”

Crider was pleased with the concert’s wide range of sounds and talents presented, taking special pride in the uniqueness of Southwestern’s School of Church Music and Worship being able to provide such a performance.

“I think my thrill is the incredible variety of musical expressions that people will hear, which reflects not only the talent of our students, but the incredible musical diversity of our music school,” Crider said. “It’s just there’s nothing like it anywhere.”

A recording of the performance can be seen here.