Free and open to the public, the Christmas concert will be presented Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 9 at 4 p.m. in the Kasch Performance Hall of the Dahl Chapel and Auditorium. Audience members are encouraged to arrive early, as seating is usually limited.

According to Sarah Graham, director of choral activities and vocal studies, "Christmas at Monmouth" will actually begin with an organ prelude, starting at 7:20 and 3:50 p.m., respectively. The prelude, "Noel Sur les Flutes" and "Noel Grand Jeu et Duo" by Louis-Claude Dagquin, will be performed on the college’s Ardell Organ by Jay N. Regennitter, associate pastor of the Riverside United Methodist Church in Moline.

"We have chosen this year to title our ‘Christmas at Monmouth’ celebration with the Latin phrase ‘sit lux,’ or ‘let there be light,’ because we wanted to focus on the theme of light as we present a modified lessons and carol program of the Christmas story," Graham said.

To that end, the festival will include the world premiere of "Sit Lix,’ a choral piece by composer Donna Gartman Schultz. It was commissioned specially for the Monmouth College Chorale for the "Christmas at Monmouth" program.

"Sit Lux" is also the original motto of Monmouth College. It was later shortened to "Lux" in the design of the college seal.

Schultz, who will be in attendance at both performances, lives in Gig Harbor, Wash., and is best known professionally for her choral writing. Her works are frequently performed both throughout the U.S. and internationally. She has written for and has been commissioned by choral groups at all levels.

"Choosing the right text for a choral piece is almost always a challenge," said Schultz. "When I began work on ‘Sit Lux,’ I knew I wanted to find texts that would help express the meaning implied by the Latin phrase as it pertains to an educational setting: ‘Let there be light,’ but, more specifically, the light of knowledge. In connection with that, I wanted the piece to convey a sense of the beauty, awe and wonder of the night sky and the light that fills the darkness."

Schultz has used texts from poets Emily Bronte, Walt Whitman and Sara Teasdale to compliment her musical score.

The Rev. Dr. Kathleen Fannin, Monmouth College chaplain, will bring the various aspects of the Christmas program together through a variety of originally-written pieces, scriptures and other readings. Assisting the Rev. Fannin will be student chaplain Sanju Gautam.

Vocal and instrumental groups featured at this year’s concert will include the Monmouth Chorale, directed by Graham; the Monmouth College Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of Carolyn Suda, and the Monmouth Winds, conducted by Stephen Richter, director of instrumental music activities.

The Monmouth Chorale, which is the college’s most highly auditioned choral ensemble, will perform numerous pieces, including notable works such as "Jubilate Deo" (Laszlo Halmos) and "Gaudete," adapted from the "Piae Cantiones" with soloists Megan Morgan, Amanda Rush, Tim Seyller and Brittany Alston.

The Chorale will also present "Three Spanish Christmas Carols of the Sixteenth Century" with soloists Brian Jordan, Lindsay Jackson, Sylvia Puckett, Seyller, Cassie Frantz and Jessie Carpenter.

The Chorale will join with the Chamber Orchestra on "Beatus Vir" (Psalm 112: 1-10) by Claudio Monteverdi, with soloists Rita Karsbaek, Brendan Murphy, Seyller, Rush and Jordan. A special piece, "God Rest Ye/Emmanuel" by Daron Hagen, will feature two celli with choral accompaniment. The featured cellists are Sarah Arcan and Monmouth resident Melissa O’Neal.

The Chamber Orchestra will perform "Christmas Concerto Grosso," (Arcangelo Corelli), "Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming" and Tchaikovsky’s waltz from the "Nutcracker Suite."

The Monmouth Winds will take the stage with "O Magnum Mysterium (Morten Lauridsen), "Lux Arumque" (Eric Whitacre) and a brass piece from the balcony of the Dahl Chapel and Auditorium, "Ecce Sacerdos" (Anton Bruckner). Recent graduate Brian Wilcoxson, now an MC post-baccalaureate student, will serve as a student conductor.

As is the tradition with the "Christmas at Monmouth" concert, the congregation will be asked to join in the singing of some traditional Christmas carols and hymns, including "O Come All Ye Faithful" and the concert-concluding "Silent Night."