Celebrate Christmas: A Covenant Holiday Tradition
There’s no place like Covenant for the holidays. Students look forward to numerous festive events each holiday season, but one of the most cherished and highly-anticipated traditions is Covenant College’s annual Celebrate Christmas concert followed by the Great Hall Madrigals Dessert Reception. Each year, the concert meaningfully focuses attention on Christ during the holidays.
Yesterday and Today
Beginning in 1966, the Christmas concert is one of Covenant’s oldest traditions. By 1969, the Renaissance-themed Madrigal performance was accompanied by a Christmas feast in the Great Hall with several performances to enjoy during dinner. The tradition was beloved not just by Covenant students, but also by the community in Chattanooga.
Today, the Celebrate Christmas concert includes performances from Covenant’s entire music department, including the choirs, jazz ensemble, orchestra, percussion ensemble, and gospel choir. The concert is followed by a Madrigal dessert reception in the Great Hall, where the Covenant singers and chamber singers in Renaissance-themed costumes sing carols, dance, and serve desserts and hot chocolate to the audience seated at tables in the Great Hall.
Thoughtful Preparation
Amidst the busy scramble towards the end of the semester, the Celebrate Christmas concert is a welcome opportunity to reflect on Christ’s birth. Rehearsals take place weeks in advance to prepare for the performances. Each group and ensemble meets for several hours every week throughout the semester, with many opportunities to perform and practice leading up to the Christmas concert. Madrigals practice similarly begins early in the semester. Each performer chooses a costume and gets matched with a dance partner. Rehearsals for choreography begin in the chapel before transitioning to the Great Hall.
Intentional Worship
Professor of music Dr. Scott Finch contributes to planning, developing, and directing the concert each year. AJ Mirabella ’26, who has spent three years participating in Covenant’s choirs, explained that Dr. Finch “has the heart of a pastor and shepherd, so in class every day you're singing and you're practicing, and then all of a sudden he's speaking the gospel over you and reminding you of God's faithfulness and the truths of scripture.” Chorale singer Sydney Nesbitt ’26 echoed this intention by stating Dr. Finch’s emphasis on music as “a way that we can minister to people who are hurting…we're just going to be singing them the gospel.”
The Celebrate Christmas concerts continue to be a beloved tradition among students and the surrounding community. The performances are thoughtfully prepared and rehearsed to remind audiences why Jesus’s incarnation deserves to be joyfully celebrated.