In the final Southern Utah University music department event of 2025, the school’s choirs, orchestras and music ensembles combined to put on a holiday concert on Friday, Dec. 5 in the Heritage Center Theater.
The event featured two hours of festive music, ranging from a capella choir pieces to featured musicians to jazz arrangements of Christmas carols.
The concert opened with a six-minute song that featured all of SUU’s choirs and its orchestra. The Opus chamber choir was the first group to perform by themselves, singing a traditional English carol and “What Sweeter Music” by John Rutter.
“I heard that song in 1997 from the choir at Bountiful High School and since then I’ve had it in my back pocket,” said choir director Dr. Andrew Briggs. “It meant a lot to finally get to perform it 28 years later. We’re a tight-knit group in Opus and singing that song was a very tender thing for me, especially as I was looking at the faces of students who aren’t coming back next semester.”
Briggs wasn’t the only one present who got emotional over the music and graduating class. Opus President Annie Gough felt bittersweet as she sang for the last time as a student at SUU.
“I’m excited to graduate and be able to start student teaching, but it’s really hard to leave the people here and the memories we’ve made together,” Gough said. “It makes it less hard knowing I get to see my family after this and that we get to celebrate the holidays soon.”
After Opus was the symphony orchestra directed by Dr. Xun Sun and the jazz ensemble directed by Dr. Lambert.
“The jazz band was phenomenal,” said attendee Michael Guiant. “I’ve been tired of exams and this concert absolutely got me in the holiday mood.”
Afterwards, the audience listened to songs from the Luminosa and concert choirs, and pieces from the jazz combo, wind symphony, percussion ensemble and a piano duo composed of Topher Hansen and Trevor Sanders.
Finally, the choirs and orchestra combined once more to sing a medley of Christmas carols. The audience joined in with singing and ended the concert with thunderous applause.
This was the last music department event until the Satellite Salon Concert on Jan. 31. For more information, go to the music department website.
