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Christmas on the Boulevard showcases diverse holiday music; encore show this Friday
December 7, 2016 : By Colin Schwager - Office of Communications & Public Engagement
Before a packed house, over 400 performers from Liberty University’s School of Music presented the sixth annual “Christmas on the Boulevard” in the Center for Music and the Worship Arts’ new grand concert hall Tuesday night. The concert showcased a myriad of music stylings, from classical music to contemporary holiday music, performed by the Liberty University Symphony Orchestra and several performing choirs, including LU Praise, the School of Music House Band, the Liberty University Chamber Singers, the Liberty University Concert Choir, SHINE, and the Liberty University Chorale.
In all, more than 350 singers, 60 orchestra members, 15 house band members, and seven faculty soloists performed throughout the night.
The concert kicked off with a performance of the Christmas portion of Handel’s “Messiah,” a musical journey of the birth and passion of Christ.
The second part of the concert featured a medley of contemporary Christmas songs from popular holiday films, including “Miracle on 34th Street,” “The Grinch,” and “The Polar Express,” as well as powerful arrangements of hymns and traditional songs, including “Epic Christmas Carol,” “O Come, Emanuel,” “O Holy Night,” and “Behold the Savior.” A moving arrangement of “Carol of the Bells,” by film scoring student Brock Snow, with lyrics inspired by the message of the coming messiah in Isaiah 40, was performed by the entire joint choirs and orchestra.
School of Music Dean Dr. Vernon Whaley explained that between the two halves of the performance, the room was transformed from a non-amplified auditorium for classical music into one conducive for the electronic sound of more modern hits. The concert hall’s physically adjustable acoustics can be deployed to soften the classical acoustic to accommodate an electronically amplified rock ’n’ roll show. The room is equipped with the Meyer Sound Constellation System which adds early reflections and reverberation electronically to allow instant changes of acoustics. This combination of physically and electronically adjustable acoustics is unsurpassed.
“The concert hall is the only one like it on the world,” Whaley said. “With the combination of physically adjustable acoustics and the electronic miracles of the Constellation Acoustic System, we can create an infinite palette of concert hall acoustics.”
President Jerry Falwell expressed high praise for the concert during Wednesday morning’s Convocation and personally requested that an encore performance be held for anyone who was unable to attend the show. The request was granted and Christmas on the Boulevard will again be held in the Center for Music and the Worship Arts Concert Hall Friday at 7 p.m. To purchase tickets, visit the LU Ticket Office webpage or call (434) 582-SEAT.
