Christmas Season Begins with Noel Night Concert

The University’s Christmas season will kick off with its 54th annual Noel Night concert on Saturday, Dec. 4.
The 54th annual Noel Night concert, featuring The University of Scranton Singers, presented by Performance Music at The University of Scranton, will take place Saturday, Dec. 4, at 8 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center. Doors will open at 7:20 p.m. and an organ prelude will begin at 7:25 p.m. Admission is free. The concert is the University’s Christmas gift to the community.
The 54th annual Noel Night concert, featuring The University of Scranton Singers, presented by Performance Music at The University of Scranton, will take place Saturday, Dec. 4, at 8 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center. Doors will open at 7:20 p.m. and an organ prelude will begin at 7:25 p.m. Admission is free. The concert is the University’s Christmas gift to the community.

Continuing a time-honored holiday tradition, Performance Music at The University of Scranton will present its 54th annual Noel Night concert on Saturday, Dec. 4. The concert will begin at 8 p.m. in the University’s Houlihan-McLean Center (Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue). Doors will open at 7:20 p.m., and there will be an organ prelude beginning at 7:25 p.m.

The concert will feature The University of Scranton Singers with pianist Ron Stabinsky, organist Christopher Johnson, trumpeter Mark Gould, a quartet from The Scranton Brass Orchestra and members of the University’s String Orchestra. The performance is open to invited guests and all members of the University community. Admission is free, and all audience members must wear masks throughout the performance. University campus access and other health and safety information will be updated throughout the semester and can be seen on the Royals Back Together webpage. Please check Performance Music’s website, scranton.edu/music, within 24 hours of the recital for the most current information on audience COVID-19 mitigation measures (e.g., masking, vaccination, distancing, etc.).

Noel Night is now more than a half-century into its existence as the University’s Christmas gift to the community. “It’s always a deeply meaningful musical evening,” said Performance Music Conductor and Director Cheryl Y. Boga. The student mixed choir is comprised of members of the University community from majors and departments spanning the curriculum (the vast majority of them undergraduate students, none of whom are music majors) joined by a few alumni, all brought together by their mutual love of music-making. They will be joined by leaders of the University community offering greetings and readings of the Nativity Martyrology, Prologue to The Gospel of St. John and St. Luke Nativity Narrative. The program will include works by Bach, Handel, Holst, Leontovich, Nelhybel, Saint-Saens and more.

Pianist Ron Stabinsky is among the most sought-after freelance pianists in the Northeast. He performs as a solo, ensemble and collaborative pianist throughout the world in concerts and events spanning a stunningly wide variety of genres. His debut album, “Free for One,” received four stars in DownBeat magazine and tied for the No. 1 debut of the year in the 2016 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll. His recent festival appearances include Newport Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival (Netherlands), Moers Festival (Germany), Jazzfestival Saalfelden (Austria), Outreach Festival (Austria) and Jazz and More Festival Sibiu (Romania).

Organist Christopher Johnson, a graduate of The Cleveland Institute of Music, Manhattan School of Music and Yale University is the newly-appointed organist and director of music at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Scranton. He previously served as director of music and organist at The Riverside Church and artist-in-residence at Union Theological Seminary - both on Manhattan’s Upper West Side - for a number of years, and is the long-time director of Chapel music at The Interchurch Center in New York City. He also performs regularly as flautist with The Knights, an exceptional New York City-based orchestra that tours and records extensively.

Mark Gould served as principal trumpet with The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for more than 30 years. Either he or his students have performed with virtually every major orchestra, chamber group or brass ensemble throughout the world, and he has guest conducted and rehearsed ensembles all over the globe. His professional contributions as performer, teacher and conductor have influenced or impacted – directly or indirectly – virtually every accomplished trumpeter in the world today, and have positively transformed the world of brass playing and brass pedagogy. He is sought after throughout the world as a performer, conductor, teacher and clinician.

For further information on the Noel Night concert, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music.

Back to Top