The “Mississippi College Festival of Lights 2018” premieres on Mississippi Public Broadcasting Television Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. The concert brings together Mississippi College faculty members and the Mississippi College Singers to present a program of music and scripture readings in the English tradition of Lessons and Carols.
Encore presentations of the concert will air Dec. 22 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 25 at 4 p.m. Taiwo Gaynor and Zeke Bandy are the MPB producers for the broadcast.
“The MC Singers and I are excited that MPB will be bringing the 33rd Annual Festival of Lights to audiences across our great state,” said Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities Mark Nabholz, DMA.
“John Gibson, Taiwo Gaynor, and the whole production team at MPB Television are consummate professionals and a pleasure to work with. They understand the intimate nature of what we’re trying to achieve musically, and the crew captures that beautifully in the broadcast filming each year,” added professor Nabholz.
“It’s unbelievable that this ministry can reach out to so many people,” says sophomore Hunter Cannette, 19, of Pascagoula, a member of the MC Singers. Since the concert will be broadcast statewide, the Pascagoula High graduate says his grandfather will get the chance to watch “Festival of Lights 2018” from his Gulf Coast home.
Festival of Lights began at Mississippi College in December 1986. Every year, the concert ends with the choir leaving the historic Provine Chapel on the campus by candlelight singing “Of the Father’s Love Begotten.”
Conducted by professor Nabholz, the MC Singers have entertained audiences at New York City’s famed Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. The talented group has also traveled to performance halls in Europe and South Africa.
