Lessons & Carols 2020

Please enjoy the Roanoke College A Capella Choir and Oriana Singers 36th annual Lessons and Carols.

The history of Lessons and Carols:
Lessons and Carols dates back to the end of World War I in Cambridge, England. The King’s College Chapel Choir at Cambridge University performed the first Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve in 1918 as an offering of comfort to residents of a country recovering from war. The program caught on and has been performed every year on Christmas Eve in Cambridge since, and has been carried live by the BBC since 1928. Millions of people watch the performances from Cambridge each year, and different choirs perform various adaptations of the service around the world.

Dr. Jeffrey Sandborg initiated Roanoke College’s Lessons and Carols tradition when he arrived at the College in 1985.