The sounds of voices singing, violins playing and trumpets blowing filled the La Mirada Theatre for Performing Arts on the evening of Dec. 7. The spirit of Christmas came alive at Biola’s Annual Christmas Concert, “Let the Nations Rejoice!,” where students, friends and families gathered together to celebrate the birth of Christ in song and praise.
President Barry Corey took the stage after the opening number of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” by the Biola Brass Ensemble, thanking the students and conductors who made the whole night possible. Corey explained that throughout the concert, the screen above the musicians would display images of different artworks from around the world depicting the birth of Christ. Scenes from the hit TV show, “The Chosen,” were also interspersed between musical numbers.
THE NATIONS REJOICED
Biola’s choral, instrumental and orchestral ensembles performed several classic Christmas songs, such as “Joy to the World” and “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” encouraging the audience to stand and sing along. The Biola Symphony Orchestra followed with beautiful renditions of “Grand Pas De Deux” and “Trepak” from the world-famous ballet, “The Nutcracker,” were performed by the .
The title of this year’s concert is “Let the Nations Rejoice!” To bring that to life, three of the evening’s numbers were sung in various languages. “Ogo Ni Fun Oluwa” was sung in Yoruba by the Biola University Chorus and Chorale with Percussion Artists. “Payapang Daigdig” was sung in Tagalog by Joshua Guadarrama. “Convidando Está La Noche” was sung in Spanish by Biola Chamber Ensembles. It was beautiful to hear songs in different languages celebrating the birth of Christ.
The concert featured Shawna Stewart, Daniel Brier, Karl Meyers and John Tebay as conductors. Jason Rhue, a senior music composition major, composed his own piece for the night titled “Over All the Earth,” receiving standing ovations from the audience.
The night rang with the sweet sounds of music and touching scenes from “The Chosen,” creating the perfect reminder of what Christmas is all about: Jesus Christ.
