The fourth annual "Candlelight Service of Lessons and Carols" is set for 8 p.m. on Friday (Dec. 5) in Denison University's Swasey Chapel with the Denison Chamber Singers performing special music. Jointly sponsored by the department of music and the office of religious life at Denison, the service was started in 2000 and is a Christmas celebration for the University and a seasonal event for the local community.

Preceded by a week of tower bell concerts, the service copies the one used at King's College Chapel at Cambridge University, England. There will be biblical readings from the King James version, traditional Anglican prayers and responses, processions and congregational carols. The readings will recall the story of humanity's fall from grace, prophetic visions of the coming of the Messiah and the birth of Christ.

Mark R. Orten, the new director of religious life and campus chaplain, will preside at the service. Timothy Fields, a Columbus organist, will play and lead the singing of the congregational carols from the organ console. Among those serving as readers at this year's service are: President Dale Knobel, Provost David Anderson, Vice President for Student Affairs Sam Thios, Professor David Woodyard, and students Anusha Jogi, Frank Ward, Alicia Jamison and Jennifer Hart.

The Denison Chamber Singers is a merger of two chamber choirs that previously performed at Denison - the Denison Singers and the Collegium Musicum. The ensemble of 24 singers specializes in performing medieval, renaissance and baroque literature such as motets, madrigals, chanson, villiancicos, masses and carols. The ensemble is under the direction of Stephen Caracciolo, director of choral organizations at the University. He also is a composer whose work has been published, recorded and performed throughout the United States and Europe. He was awarded the Individual Artist's Fellowship in Composition by the Greater Columbus Arts Council.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

Position Title

Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

Business Phone

(740) 587-8575