Christmas at Concordia: A Short History
On the night of Jesus’s birth, the heavenly host praised and glorified God on the advent to earth of the Savior of humankind. From its early years until today, Concordia has continued the tradition of praising God for Jesus through vocal and instrumental music during Advent. That tradition has evolved into Christmas at Concordia, a weekend of concerts involving the university’s principal music ensembles and hundreds of its students.
Historical records of the earliest Christmas celebrations on campus are sketchy. However, in the late 1920s Concordia’s male choir, directed by Professor Karl Haase, its ladies choir, directed by Marga Link, and the choir of St. John’s Lutheran Church, also led by Karl Haase, joined in a Christmas song service at the church, culminating in a mass mixed choir of over 200 voices, singing “And the Glory of the Lord” and the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s “Messiah.” In the 1930s there were annual concerts on campus, with the band having the principal role and choirs singing at intermissions.
Today’s Christmas concerts had their origins in the A Cappella Choir, founded in 1939 By Dr. Theodore Stelzer. That year the choir presented a sacred service of song at St. John’s Church. In 1952 the choir performed a concert program on campus and then repeated it at nearby congregations. Through the 1970s the A Cappella choir, directed by Professor Paul Rosel, joined by the college orchestra, led by Professor Charles Krutz, continued the annual concerts, usually including selections from Handel’s “Messiah.”
A major change occurred in 1980 when the concert’s name was changed to the “All-Concordia Concert,” with two concerts in Weller Chapel. The following year the brass choir, handbell choir, Concordia Singers, A Cappella, and band all participated in the concert. In 1988 “Christmas at Concordia” became the new name for the event. In 1996 there were three concerts in Weller Hall. Nevertheless, growing popularity of the concerts led in 1998 St. John Lutheran Church becoming the home of Christmas at Concordia, initially with two concerts, then three in 2000, and in 2012 to four concerts spanning Friday evenings to Sunday afternoons. Still, the demand for tickets regularly far exceeds the available space. Christmas at Concordia has become a significant event on the Concordia campus and the community of Seward, praising God for amazing grace embodied in the infant Savior.