Heavenly Sounds Abound: 9 Lessons and Carols
By Melissa Weng ‘27, Staff Writer; Edited by Sunny (Yu) Zhao ‘26, Staff Editor
Filled with soft candlelight, dulcet voices, and melodic songs, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is a consistent annual highlight. This year, the two services occurred on Saturday, December 14th, and Sunday, December 15th in the Memorial Chapel at 5:00 pm.
The service started off with a processional hymn: “Once In Royal David’s City”. On Saturday, the first verse was sung by Rae Dorah ’25, and on Sunday, by Shakeela Vahdat ’25 while members of the Chapel Council serving team and the Upper School choir slowly proceeded into the Memorial Chapel, which was then followed by the bidding prayer, read by Reverand Dr. Daniel Tatarnic from St. Alban’s Anglican Church in Beamsville. Then the Upper School Choir sang “African Noel,” arranged by Stephen Cleobury.
The First Lesson & Carol:
The first lesson, Genesis I, was read by Varnit Roe ’31 (Saturday) and Nathan Nitsopoulos ’29 (Sunday). The Lower and Middle School choirs then set off the first carol, singing “This Christmas” by Pinkzebra on Saturday and “A Boy Was Born in Bethlehem” by Bert Van der Hock on Sunday respectively.
The Second Lesson & Carol:
Genesis XXII was the second lesson, read by Chris Bittle, Member of Parliament for St. Catharines on Saturday and Paul O’Rourke, Middle School Head. It was followed by the second carol, “All Bells in Paradise” by John Rutter.
The Third Lesson & Carol:
The third lesson, Isaiah IX, was read by Alexandre Ricardson ’29 on Saturday and Ruth Court, a retired faculty of Ridley College and an honorary assistant of St. Thomas Anglican Church. The Vocal Ensemble then performed a rendition of “Born of Christmas Day” with Siera Dunkley ’27 and Natasha Mattocks ’26 as soloists.
The Fourth Lesson & Carol:
The fourth lesson, Isaiah IX was read by Lance Postma, Upper School Head (Saturday) and Betty-Lou Souter, Chief Executive Officer of Community Care (Sunday). The Upper School choir sang “Hush (Mary and Joseph’s Lullaby)” by Tim Phelan as the fourth carol.
The Fifth Lesson & Carol:
The fifth lesson, Luke I, was read by Inez Ahrazem Valladolid ’25 (Saturday) and Jen Cobrun ’95, a past president of the Ridley College Family Guild. The fifth carol on Saturday was “Silent Night”, sung by all, and on Sunday, soloist Gioia Bonifacio-Proiette ’25 sang “Ave Maria”.
The Sixth Lesson & Carol:
The sixth lesson, Luke II, was read by Masturah Nantume ’25 (Saturday) and Winnie Standish, the current Ridley College Family Guild President (Sunday). The sixth carol was “Watt’s Cradle Hymn” by Paul Halley.
The Seventh Lesson & Carol:
The seventh lesson, a continuation of Luke II, was read by Alison Loat from the Ridley College Board of Governors (Saturday) and Reverand Dr. Wayne Fraser, retired Upper School Chaplain (Sunday). The seventh carol was “Go, tell it on the Mountain”, arranged by Howard Helvey.
The Eighth Lesson & Carol:
The eighth lesson, Matthew II, was read by Lisa Dumont, Head of Lower School (Saturday), and Jay Tredway, Assistant Head of School Curricular and Community Connections (Sunday). The eighth carol was “We three Kings” with Ethan Huang ’26, Eason Zhang ’25, Alex Robert Bergshoeff ’26 as the three Kings.
The Ninth Lesson & Carol:
The final lesson, John I, was read by our Headmaster Mr. Kidd and followed by “Do You Hear What I Hear?” The services were then concluded by a closing hymnHark The Hearld Angels Sing”.
