Candlelight Carols

Candlelight Carols returns with a thoughtfully curated program capturing the many moods of the holiday season—from quiet reflection and sacred wonder to warmth, celebration, and familiar seasonal joy.

The St. Charles Singers will be joined by the Kontras Quartet for an evening combining unaccompanied choral music, works for voices and string quartet, and a special set performed by the quartet. Together, the two ensembles bring added richness and variety to this cherished holiday tradition.

The program features music by J.S. Bach, Ola Gjeilo, John Rutter, John Tavener, Caroline Shaw, and St. Charles Singers composer-in-residence Nate Adams. Selections including O Little One Sweet, Ubi Caritas III: Sacred Heart, Christmas Night, Lux Brumalis, To the Hands: i will hold you, and The Lamb offer moments of beauty, stillness, and contemplation.

Alongside these works are imaginative settings of carols audiences know and love, including The Holly and the Ivy, Ding Dong! Merrily on High, Away in a Manger, Silent Night, The Little Drummer Boy, I Saw Three Ships, and Jingle Bells. Heard in distinctive choral arrangements, these familiar melodies take on renewed color and meaning.

Moving gracefully between the sacred and the festive, Candlelight Carols invites audiences to pause, listen, and share in the beauty of the season through expressive choral singing, the warmth of strings, and the enduring appeal of beloved holiday music.