A Virtual Offering for 2020

The 2020 virtual Celebration of Lessons & Carols draws upon that of 2018.

poster for replay of Dec 2018 Lessons and Carols service

11th ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF LESSONS AND CAROLS GOES VIRTUAL FOR 2020 AS OF DECEMBER 23RD

For 2020 the 11th annual Celebration of Lessons and Carols in Kinderhook will be available online beginning Wednesday, December 23rd. Established in 2010, each year this popular gathering draws over 350 attendees from throughout the region.

Unfortunately for 2020 pandemic restrictions make impossible an actual gathering of this size. Not wishing to disappoint loyal followers, Music Director David Smith happened to recall that the 2018 Celebration of Lessons & Carols had been professionally recorded, but not previously released.

Drawing on much of the music from 2018 and adding several newly recorded works, a one-hour abbreviated lessons and carols is being made available online, freely and for all. The online address for this will be available as of December 23rd by visiting either https://www.kinderhookreformedchurch.com/ or here, at https://www.concertsinthevillage.org/

Smith feels strongly that a year should not go by without maintaining this seasonal tradition, which so many have been asking about. “In this year of severe limits on public activity I believe we have happily found a very appealing way to preserve this important community tradition. The underwriting of the 2018 Celebration of Lessons & Carols by two generous singers was certainly fortuitous, as was having the audio-video material still in our archive! To be honest, in 2018 we agreed to the recording without having any particular reason why it was being done! But now we certainly do know why!”

Music selected for the 2020 virtual Celebration of Lessons & Carols includes works by Bach, Dupré, Howells, Saint-Saëns, Vaughan Williams and others, as well as seven traditional carols of the season sung by all. Performing will be a choir of 37, including 11 soloists. David Smith is organist for the occasion and will be assisted by Noah Palmer. Also available online will be a complete program leaflet.

Pastor Rudolph Visser is delighted that we will not disappoint the many followers of this event. “The Kinderhook Reformed Church has been serving the community for over three centuries. Now with boldness we are enjoying a fourth century in the life of this historic church. Our annual Celebration of Lessons and Carols will once again – even in this very challenging year – be a blessing for all in the community, and bring joy to many.”
For further information, please visit www.kinderhookreformedchurch.com or call 518-758-6401.

Some Photos

David Smith at piano with chorus rehearsing
David Smith at piano with chorus rehearsing

Concerts in the Village 

presents choral and instrumental classical music in Kinderhook, NY.

“A stunning all Handel concert at the Kinderhook Reformed Church on November 9 was one of the finest musical events of its kind in many seasons.  Maestro Smith has brought his musical forces to heights of musical grandeur.  .  .  .  This third Handel concert of the series reached heights of sustained musical beauty….In a short time ‘Concerts in the Village’ has taken on a major musical role in the Upper Hudson Valley.” -John Paul Keeler, On the Scene, Columbia-Green Media, Nov 15, 2014

CITV concerts are made possible by the generous support of many individual, institutional and business supporters, including the T. Backer Fund, CITV Emerging Singer Fund, The Alexander and Marjorie Hover Foundation, Hudson River Bank and Trust Company Foundation, Eugene M. Lang Foundation, Price Chopper Golub Foundation, and Stewart’s Shops. Kinderhook Reformed Church is especially acknowledged for its many in-kind donations

David Smith at his Steinway