56th Annual Festival of Lessons & Carols

The 56th annual Festival of Lessons and Carols at the University of the South will be celebrated at three services, at 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, and at 5 and 8 p.m., Sunday, December 6. 

At once solemn and joyful, the Festival of Lessons and Carols evokes the meaning of the Advent season through the radiant music of the University Choir and selected readings by members of the University and Sewanee community. The service is based on one that has been sung annually since 1918 at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, England. It features the University Choir under the direction of University organist and choirmaster Robert Delcamp.

As part of the University mission and the program of education and formation of All Saints’ Chapel, the Festival Service of Lessons and Carols offers students, faculty and staff the opportunity to experience one of the oldest traditions of Anglican music and Advent expectation.

As part of the University’s outreach to others, the public is also welcome to attend; tickets were available by reservation in November. All available spaces were reserved quickly, but it still may be possible to attend a service without a reserved seat. The University expects that some people with tickets will decide not to attend, and will distribute those tickets in advance of each service.

There will be a sign-up sheet in Convocation Hall beginning at noon Saturday and Sunday. People who wish to attend a service may add their names to the list for a service that day.

Thirty minutes before each service (4:30 p.m. Saturday, and 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday), people from the sign-up list will be seated with tickets that were not picked up by those who reserved them. Tickets will be distributed in the order in which people signed up.

Guests must be present in Convocation Hall 30 minutes before the service in order to receive a ticket. While there are no guarantees, all walk-ups have been seated during the last two years in which the ticketing system has been used.

Guerry Auditorium will be open and will live-stream each service for anyone who cannot be seated in All Saints’ Chapel, or who is sensitive to the incense used in the Chapel.

Guests with reservations should pick up their tickets in Convocation Hall on the day of the service between noon and 30 minutes prior to each service. Tickets not picked up by 4:30 p.m. (for Saturday and Sunday 5 p.m. services) or 7:30 p.m. (for the Sunday 8 p.m. service) will be released for walk-up guests.

For guests who wish they could take the service with them, the University Choir’s CD release from December 2014, “A Festival Service of Nine Lessons and Carols—A 10-Year Retrospective,” is being re-released this weekend. The two-CD set, which sold out last year, is a complete recording of the beloved service of Lessons and Carols heard in All Saints’ Chapel each year since 1959. It contains music and readings drawn from 2003 to 2013 and represents the work of more than 300 choristers, with readers drawn from faculty, administration, staff, clergy, students and members of the Sewanee community. 

Lessons & Carols Tickets Available on Nov. 2

The 56th annual Festival of Lessons and Carols at the University of the South will be celebrated at three services, one on Dec. 5, and two on Dec. 6.

As part of the University’s outreach to others, the Chapel is pleased to offer available places in the service for reservations. Online reservations will be available at 10 a.m., Monday, Nov. 2. 

Go to<www.sewanee.edu/student-life/spiritual-life/56th-annual-festival-of-lessons-and-carols/> to make reservations. For more information call 598-3247 or email <lessonsandcarols@sewanee.edu>.

55th Festival of Lessons & Carols at All Saints’ Chapel

The 55th Annual Festival of Lessons and Carols will be at 5 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 6, and at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 7, in All Saints’ Chapel.

Through the ticketing procedure introduced in 2013, seats are reserved in advance. Based on this year’s reservations, all three services are expected to be at or near capacity.

However, people who do not have reservations, but who would like to try to attend a service in the event that any seats are available, may have the opportunity to attend the service as a walk-up guest. 

Walk-up guests can register for the onsite wait list in Convocation Hall two hours prior to the start of each service. The seating of walk-up guests will begin 30 minutes prior to each service, and guests must be present to receive tickets. Tickets will be issued based on the number of no-shows and on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Seating is not guaranteed for walk-up guests. For walk-up guests not receiving seats, the service will be live-streamed in Guerry Auditorium.

Changes for Lessons & Carols

The 54th Annual Festival of Lessons and Carols will take place at 5 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7, and at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 8, in All Saints’ Chapel.

This year, in an effort to improve the experience for everyone who attends Lesson and Carols at Sewanee, the University encouraged guests to reserve seats for their preferred service. The new process was announced in August. Based on the number of seats reserved, all three services are expected to be at or near capacity.

People who do not have reservations but who would like to try to attend a service in the event that any seats are available should go to Convocation Hall 45 minutes before the start of the service in order to check ticket availability. Convocation Hall is located at the corner of University and Georgia avenues on the Sewanee campus.

Reserve Now for Lessons & Carols

For more than 50 years, people have been coming to the University of the South campus to attend the Festival of Lessons and Carols. The 54th Annual Festival of Lessons and Carols will take place at 5 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7, and at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 8, in All Saints’ Chapel. The service is based on one that has been sung annually since 1918 at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, England.

The University is making an effort to improve the experience for everyone who attends Lesson and Carols. This year, guests are encouraged to reserve seats for their preferred service. It is hoped that this process will eliminate the need for guests to wait outside the chapel before the service begins.

More information and links to reserve tickets for the services may be found at <life.sewanee.edu/believe/festival-of-lessons-and-carols>. The online ticket reservation site went live on Aug. 20. Based on previous years’ experience, each service is expected to be filled close to capacity.

Decorating All Saints’ Chapel for Advent

Come help in the greening of All Saints’ Chapel on Friday, Nov. 30. This annual workday is in preparation for the 53rd Annual Festival of Lessons and Carols on the first weekend in December. Work begins at 9 a.m. on Friday and continues through the day.

Area residents who have unique items from their gardens are encouraged to contact Ken Taylor at Taylor’s Mercantile. He is especially interested in Nandina and holly berries, hydrangea and anything that might be unusual and pretty in the arrangements.

All levels of experience are welcome. Coffee and pastries are served throughout the morning, and a light lunch will be offered at noon. Taylor will direct the day’s activities. 

To make a contribution toward the flowers and poinsettias used during the festival weekend, either in thanksgiving or in memory of a loved one, contact Virginia Cunningham at the chapel office at 598-1274, or by email to <vcun​ning@sewanee.edu> by Monday, Nov. 26. These names will be listed in the Sunday morning bulletin on Dec. 2.