Joyola!

In the midst of finals beginning this upcoming week, Loyola’s music department has been hard at work preparing for their holiday music concert, Joyola! which took place on Thursday night. Performing many different styles of holiday music, Loyola’s choirs, orchestra, wind and jazz band ensembles came together to create one magical night of holiday music for the community to enjoy.

I myself am a member of Loyola’s Women’s Chorus, and absolutely loved being a part of this wonderful holiday tradition! In addition to the Women’s Chorus, the University Chorale and Chamber Choir also serenaded the crowd Thursday night with magical renditions of classic holiday songs. Some songs performed in the choral portion of the show included “The Spirit of the Season”, “Glory, Glory, Glory to the Newborn King”, “O Holy Night”, “Let It Snow”, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, “Jingle Bell Rock”, and a jazzy rendition of the winter classic “Jingle Bells”.

The Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, and Jazz band ensemble also performed beautifully, and I loved being able to watch them perform! The orchestra played a wonderful arrangement of “How The Grinch Stole Christmas”, and the wind ensemble played classic tunes such as “Sleigh Ride” and “Carol of the Bells”. The Jazz ensemble performed jazzy classics such as “Greensleeves” and other wonderful favorites. The Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, and all three choral ensembles also performed together in an enchanting version of “The First Nowell”.

Each ensemble to perform was equally as amazing as the next, and the extreme talent of the students truly made for a magical evening that I was honored to be a part of! The performance ended with a combined performance and sing-along of “A Christmas Festival” that included songs such as “Joy To The World” and “Deck the Halls”. With the orchestra playing and choir and audience singing, the night ended with a joyous and festive bang. Joyola will continue to be a holiday favorite for music lovers, and I can’t wait to be a part of it again next year!