For the first time since the early 2000s, the BYU-Idaho Music Department will release a Christmas album featuring combined BYU-Idaho choirs and the Symphony Orchestra.
The album will feature new Christmas arrangements from BYU-Idaho faculty members, performed by 250 students from the Collegiate Singers, Men’s Chorus, Bella Voce, Vocal Union and the Symphony Orchestra. Collegiate Singer’s director Dr. Randall Kempton is excited to release and perform the new arrangements.
“We have terrific composers and arrangers on our campus who are writing something just for us,” Kempton said. “They know our groups well. They have designed these arrangements for our groups. And yeah, you can hear ‘Joy to the World’ on it and a hundred different arrangements on YouTube, but this one is written for BYU-Idaho.”
The community is invited to watch the groups record live. They will perform on Saturday at the Barrus Concert Hall in two concerts at 4 and 7:30 p.m.
“We perform so much better when we have an audience, live audience listening to us,” Kempton said. “I really want our audiences to hear our music in the concert hall. It'll be a little different kind of concert because we'll be having the audience hold their applause to give some empty space for the recording so we can have empty space or silence on either side of the pieces and we may even repeat a piece if we need to, if something didn't go right.”
After the post-production, the album is expected to be ready before Christmas 2025 and will be released on music streaming services.
“Don’t wait for the recording, actually be there as part of the experience because the orchestra and choir sounds so good in the Barrus Concert Hall,” Kempton said. “You’re watching them perform and create the music live in front of you, that's so much different than listening to it on a recording and it's emotionally powerful, spiritually moving. Just being there in the hall with those people, sharing their witness of Christ at Christmas time.”
You can find tickets for the event at tickets.byui.edu.