Stetson University’s School of Music will present its annual Christmas Candlelight Concerts Dec. 2-5, marking the first year the beloved holiday tradition is led by Ryan Person, DMA, Stetson’s new director of choral activities. 

Person follows Timothy Peter, DMA, who retired after 14 years as Stetson’s director of choral activities and served as one of Person’s mentors at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

“I have had extensive experience leading performances like the Stetson Christmas Candlelight Concert for many years. At its foundation, this performance is a collaborative effort that highlights the strengths of our exceptional university musicians. The concert will include an eclectic mix of choral and instrumental repertoire, and of course, conclude with a traditional performance of Silent Night. There will be something for everyone,” Person said.

This year’s concerts carry the theme, “Ring in a Thousand Years of Peace,” and will feature a choir of more than 100 vocalists accompanied by a 25-piece orchestra. Featured performances will also be given by the Stetson University Concert Choir, conducted by Person, and the Hatter Choir and Stetson Chorale, conducted by Pingyi Song, DMA. The orchestra will feature members of the Chamber Orchestra and Symphonic Band.

Three performances will be held in Lee Chapel inside Elizabeth Hall on the DeLand campus, 421 N. Woodland Blvd., at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2, through Friday, Dec. 4. 

A fourth performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, at First United Methodist Church of Orlando, 142 East Jackson St. 

General admission tickets are $40 and go on sale online Oct. 1. Advance tickets are required, as the concerts sell out every year. To purchase tickets, visit https://www.stetson.edu/music/tickets.php. 

“Stetson traditions like the Candlelight Concert are sacred and something our students look forward to sharing with members of the community at both Stetson and in Orlando,” Person said.

“The combination of Stetson’s talented voices and orchestra will present the audience with a very memorable evening,” he said. “The performance will offer beautiful combined choral/orchestral selections, as well as music performed by each choir. We are very fortunate to perform in both Lee Chapel and First United Methodist Church, as their settings lend to the intimate delivery of each performance.”

Person joins Stetson from Morningside University in Sioux City, Iowa, where his choirs won the American Prize in Choral Performance for Colleges and Universities, toured South Africa, Austria, Germany and Czechia, and performed at national American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) conferences. He has conducted at Carnegie Hall and is scheduled to return there in 2028 to lead a national festival choir.

–Stetson Today