The 66th annual Trinity College Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols will be held on Sunday, December 7, 2025 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. This service is offered to all as a moment of comfort and hope.
A PDF of the order of service is available here. An audio recording and photos of the Festival will be available soon.
Doors open at 3:15 p.m. No tickets are required. A freewill offering will be taken to support students in need and local initiatives.
Musical program to include:
POWELL The Word Was God
R.E. SMITH Adam Lay Ybounden
DOVE Seek Him that Maketh the Seven Stars
LAURIDSEN ‘O Magnum Mysterium’
HOULIHAN Dost Thou in a Manger Lie
PEARSALL ‘In dulci Jubilo’
R.E. SMITH Rejoice and be Merry
And several beloved carols for all to sing!
THE CHAPEL SINGERS
TRINITY COLLEGE GOSPEL CHOIR
STRING QUARTET
ELLEN DICKINSON, carillon
LAUREN GRIFFIN ’28, timpani
ELIJAH MORRIS ’28, organ
CHRIS YI ’26, organ
CHRISTOPHER HOULIHAN ’09, director of chapel music
THE VERY REV. MARCUS GEORGE HALLEY, college chaplain
THE RT. REV. JEFFREY W. MELLO, 16th Bishop Diocesan, The Episcopal Church in Connecticut
Audio recordings of the Festival are now available: an album of individual tracks is available on SoundCloud; a podcast of the entire service is available from Apple Podcasts. Photos from the Festival are available here.
This year’s Festival celebrated Trinity College’s Bicentennial with special musical offerings to mark the occasion. An audio recording of the 4:00 p.m. service is available.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.’
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.
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
