2023: the 64th Annual Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols
This year’s Festival celebrated Trinity College’s Bicentennial with special musical offerings to mark the occasion. An audio recording of the 4:00 p.m. service is available.
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Lessons and Carols
The 65th annual Trinity College Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols will be held on Sunday, December 8, 2024 at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m.
The annual Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols marks the beginning of the holiday season for the Greater Hartford community. This service is offered to all as a moment of comfort and hope.
Doors open at 3:15 p.m. No tickets are required. A freewill offering will be taken to support students in need and local initiatives.
Audio recordings of the Festival are now available: an album of individual tracks is available on SoundCloud; a podcast of the entire service is available from Apple Podcasts.
Click here for a PDF copy of this year’s order of service.
Photos from the Festival are available here.
The Chapel Singers
Trinity College Gospel Choir
Ellen Dickinson, college carillonist
Elijah Morris ’28, organ
Madison Thompson ’25, organ
Chris Yi ’26, organ
Christopher Houlihan ’09, director of chapel music
The Very Rev. Marcus George Halley, chaplain to the college
The Rt. Rev. Laura J. Ahrens, Bishop Suffragan, The Episcopal Church in Connecticut
2022: the 63rd Annual Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols
Featuring musical offerings from Madison Thompson ’25, Chris Yi ’26, The Chapel Singers, and Trinity College Gospel Choir. The 4:00 p.m. service was live-streamed and is available to watch.
2021: the 62nd Annual Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols
The 2021 Festival marked the in-person return of this beloved tradition following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 4:00 p.m. service was live-streamed and included musical offerings from The Chapel Singers, the Trinity College Gospel Choir, and student Chapel organists.
2020: Virtual Offerings
New recordings featuring The Chapel Singers; Zachary Schurman ’22, assistant Chapel organist; Ellen Dickinson, college carillonneur; and Christopher Houlihan, college organist and director of Chapel music.
2019: the 61st Annual Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols
A complete recording of the 2019 festival, with program and photos. In celebration of ‘Women at the Summit: 50 Years of Coeducation at Trinity College,’ the music program featured carols by women composers and poets, and the lessons were read by Trinity women— faculty, staff, administrators, students, and alumnae.
2018: Carols from the 60th Annual Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols
The Chapel Singers recorded music from the 2018 Festival of Lessons and Carols, including the premier of Robert Edward Smith’s setting of ‘Adam Lay Ybounden.’
2017: the 59th Annual Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols
Music and photos from the 2017 Festival. The music this year was directed for the first time by Christopher Houlihan ’09, newly appointed college organist and director of Chapel music.
2016: The 58th Annual Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols
Music and photos from the 2016 Festival. This year’s Lessons and Carols featured a choir of nearly 60 Chapel Singers alumni and the premier of Logos by Patrick Greene ’07. John Rose, director and organist
