Instead of pouring into St. John the Divine to mark the beginning of the holiday season, families sat at home, opened the Candlelight video and dimmed the lights.

The annual Candlelight service includes a procession of choirs, seasonal hymns, spiritual readings and performances by the St. John’s choirs and orchestras.

Though the pandemic prevented an audience from attending both the fall concert and Candlelight this year, students and teachers created virtual programs in lieu of in-person services.

On Saturday, Dec. 5, the six choirs and two Upper School orchestras recorded fall concert and Candlelight repertoire on campus.

To comply with the School’s COVID-19 policy, orchestra members sat six feet apart on the Lowe Theater stage while maintaining a semi-usual orchestral formation. Saxophonists and trumpeters also used bell covers, which act as masks for instruments by filtering the emitted air. 

Singers spread out among the pews in St. John the Divine, wearing singer’s masks that protrude outward from the face to help project sound. 

According to choir members, these protocols made it more difficult for all the music to align, as students who sat farther away from the conductor heard the people in the front with a delay. Romit Kundagrami, a member of Kantorei, Chorale and Chamber Strings, said that ensembles had significantly less rehearsal time in the new five-day rotation. In addition, to record Candlelight within the time constraints, ensembles played a smaller repertoire.

“Socially-distanced performing was a really challenging experience for me because it was incredibly difficult to listen across the choir and even hear my own part,” sophomore Maggie Henneman said. “I felt almost like I was singing a solo, so I had to work extra hard to make sure to stay on tempo and come in on the right beat.”

Jazz Band and Wind Ensemble had their own socially-distanced recording sessions for the annual fall band concert on Dec. 6. Despite the safety restrictions, Middle and Upper School Band Director Nicholas Thomas feels that the concert was a success.

“I’m just proud we were able to overcome that and do one thing normal this year, which was to play music together and give a gift back to the community,” Thomas said. 

Chorale Director Scott Bonasso appreciated the camaraderie of creating live choral music, saying that the important thing is that “students are getting together and singing and making music and learning.”

Kundagrami says that Candlelight and the concerts were a silver-lining after a year of events that felt “impersonal” because of COVID-19 precautions.

“It is such a blessing to have been able to perform once again, even if there were some modifications to the typical structure,” Kundagrami said. “This was one of the first times this year that I truly felt the magical feeling of performing in an ensemble.”