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Saluting the Season in Song: Members of Lincoln University's Concert Choir (in orange and blue robes) presented a selection of classical and traditional holiday music during the University's traditional Christmas Concert held on December 6, 2001. An overflow audience of Lincoln's southern Chester County neighbors as well as current and former faculty, staff and students gathered in the Mary Dod Brown Memorial Chapel to hear Lincoln's 26-member ensemble perform under the direction of Music Department Chair Dr. William B. Garcia. Members of the West Chester University Orchestra string section (foreground) accompanied the choir. The event, which was open to the public, was a presentation of the Lectures and Recitals Committee and the Music Department.
Now is the season to combat the wintry chill by singing carols, spreading cheer and, most importantly, strengthening ties with friends, colleagues, and neighbors. Judging by the responses of those who attended or coordinated Lincoln University's December 6 holiday concert, Lincoln succeeded on all three fronts.
As part of the University's community-outreach programs with its southern Chester County neighbors, Lincoln drew an overflow crowd this year to the popular holiday concert. The long-awaited event featured the Lincoln University Concert Choir accompanied by the West Chester University Orchestra's string section. It was held in Lincoln's Mary Dod Brown Memorial Chapel which seats approximately 300 persons. But after the audience grew, the chapel staff had to open the adjacent hall to accommodate the additional guests that included a group from the Ware Presbyterian Village, a retirement center in nearby Oxford, Pa.
Lincoln University officials said that they were thrilled to share the concert with the community.
Lincoln University President Ivory V. Nelson said, "It's gratifying to see such enthusiastic attendance from the community. Lincoln University has been a part of Southern Chester County for more than 147 years. Not many schools can boast of having so lengthy a connection with their surrounding community. The University cherishes that connection. That connection is the reason we make this concert and other campus events open to the public. It's our way of showing our appreciation of our Southern Chester County neighbors. And I hope to see more community residents at all our campus events."
Dr. Gladys J. Willis, dean of the School of Humanities, said, "Attendance was far superior to last year's [concert]" and added she also was "very pleased to see community members there."
The musicale was a presentation of Lincoln's Lectures and Recitals Committee and the Department of Music. Similar to many of Lincoln's events, the concert also was planned with the community in mind. Committee chair and Langston Hughes Memorial Library Director Emery Wimbish said, "The connection with the community is very important" and as a consequence his committee "always tries to provide a series of varied programs with broad appeal and free admission to make the community feel welcome."
Choir Director and Music Department Chair William B. Garcia said that he had invited the West Chester musicians to foster a community spirit. He added that the group "added immeasurably to the concert."
West Chester University Associate Professor of Music Sylvia Ahramjian, who instructs the string ensemble, agreed. He said that he was excited to let her students participate in the musical collaboration.
"I think too many times universities exist in their own little world," Professor Ahramjian said. "Everybody benefits when they get out and share their own experiences."
Dr. Garcia (left) leads the singers and musicians through rousing renditions of "The Glory of the Father," "March of the Shepherds" and the standard favorites like "Silent Night" and "Joy to the World."
Founded in 1854, Lincoln University is a premier, Historically Black University that combines the best elements of a liberal arts and sciences-based undergraduate core curriculum and selected graduate programs to meet the needs of students living in a highly technological and global society.
Lincoln University enrolls 1,871 students and is one of the largest employers in southern Chester County with 450 employees.