Manhattan College To Present A Candlelight Christmas Celebration

RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Manhattan College Singers and Orchestra will host their holiday program on Sunday, December 4 at 4:30 p.m. in the College’s Chapel of De La Salle and His Brothers. This year’s program, “A Festival of Lessons and Carols: A Candlelight Christmas Celebration,” is a unique and festive celebration that combines an eclectic selection of music, prayers and traditional Christmas carols.

The MC Singers plan to perform various pieces from the Renaissance, contemporary music and a spiritual, while the MC Orchestra plan to perform selections from Handel’s Messiah. The ensembles will combine to present “The Heavens are Telling” from Haydn’s Creation. Immediately following the performance in the main chapel, the Singers will process by candlelight onto the Quad and conduct the lighting of the College’s Christmas tree. A brass quartet will entertain guests on the Quad during the lighting. The program will return indoors to Smith Auditorium for a reception (which will include a visit from Santa Claus) and live jazz music.

Sponsored by student government, this family-friendly event is free and open to the public. If you have questions about the program, please call William Mulligan, Manhattan College music director, at (718) 862-7254. If you are a member of the press and wish to cover this event, please call Melanie Farmer at (718) 862-7232. The College is located at West 242nd Street near Broadway in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, one mile from the Westchester County line, and is accessible by MTA subway line 1. For detailed directions to the campus, go to
http://www.manhattan.edu/about/directions.shtml.

Manhattan College, founded in 1853, is an independent, Catholic, coeducational institution of higher learning offering more than 40 major programs of study in the areas of arts, business, education, engineering and science, along with graduate programs in education and engineering.