The 64th annual Trinity College Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols will be held on Sunday, December 10, 2023 at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m.

The annual Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols marks the beginning of the holiday season for the Greater Hartford community. Through the reading of nine lessons, each followed by the singing of a carol, the Christmas story is recounted and celebrated. This service is offered to all as a moment of comfort and hope.

No tickets are required to attend in-person at 4:00 or 7:00 p.m. An audio recording of the 4:00 p.m. service is now available here. Click here to download a PDF of this year’s program.

This year’s Festival celebrates Trinity College’s Bicentennial with special musical offerings to mark the occasion. Four works by “Trinity Composers” honor the college’s unique musical legacy, alongside newer compositions that enrich our vibrant tradition.

A freewill offering will be taken to support Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City through the Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, Hands on Hartford’s Backpack Nutrition Program (in collaboration with the Trinity Homelessness Project), and the Chaplain’s Discretionary Fund (to support Trinity College students in need). To contribute by credit card or PayPal, visit this link and add your offering in the gift amount box. Enter “Chaplain’s Discretionary Fund” in the designation comment box, and fill out your personal information. At the bottom of the screen, select your payment method.

The Chapel Singers
Trinity College Gospel Choir
Ellen Dickinson, carillon
Vaughn Mauren ’07, Madison Thompson ’25, and Chris Yi ’26, organ
Christopher Houlihan ’09, director of music
The Reverend Marcus George Halley, chaplain to the college
The Right Reverend Jeffrey W. Mello,
16th Bishop Diocesan, The Episcopal Church in Connecticut

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2022: the 63rd Annual Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols

Featuring musical offerings from Madison Thompson ’25, Chris Yi ’26, The Chapel Singers, and Trinity College Gospel Choir. The 4:00 p.m. service was live-streamed and is available to watch.

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2021: the 62nd Annual Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols

The 2021 Festival marked the in-person return of this beloved tradition following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 4:00 p.m. service was live-streamed and included musical offerings from The Chapel Singers, the Trinity College Gospel Choir, and student Chapel organists.

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2020: Virtual Offerings

New recordings featuring The Chapel Singers; Zachary Schurman ’22, assistant Chapel organist; Ellen Dickinson, college carillonneur; and Christopher Houlihan, college organist and director of Chapel music.

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2019: the 61st Annual Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols

A complete recording of the 2019 festival, with program and photos. In celebration of ‘Women at the Summit: 50 Years of Coeducation at Trinity College,’ the music program featured carols by women composers and poets, and the lessons were read by Trinity women— faculty, staff, administrators, students, and alumnae.

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2018: Carols from the 60th Annual Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols

The Chapel Singers recorded music from the 2018 Festival of Lessons and Carols, including the premier of Robert Edward Smith’s setting of ‘Adam Lay Ybounden.’

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2017: the 59th Annual Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols

Music and photos from the 2017 Festival. The music this year was directed for the first time by Christopher Houlihan ’09, newly appointed college organist and director of Chapel music.

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2016: The 58th Annual Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols

Music and photos from the 2016 Festival. This year’s Lessons and Carols featured a choir of nearly 60 Chapel Singers alumni and the premier of Logos by Patrick Greene ’07. John Rose, director and organist