BLUEFIELD, Va. — More than 130 singers from three Bluefield College voice ensembles and six local church choirs, along with 25 instrumentalists in BC’s Community Orchestra combined to perform the season’s most “amazing,” “moving” and “inspiring” Christmas production, Dec. 1 and 3.
More than 130 voices and 25 instrumentalists combined to present a music, drama and multimedia celebration of the Christmas season, titled “Christmas at Bluefield: The Word Became Flesh.”
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Known as the college’s Christmas gift to the greater Bluefield community, “Christmas at Bluefield” featured singers from BC’s select voice ensembles Variations, Bluefield Singers and Masterworks Chorale, along with vocalists from choirs from First Baptist Church of Bluefield, Bland Street United Methodist Church, Trinity United Methodist Church, First United Methodist Church of Richlands, First Christian Church of Bluefield and Westminster Presbyter-ian Church.
“We were blown away by this!” said Tim Hall, a BC parent who traveled from Roanoke to attend the production. “The music, choir, narration and slide show were simply awesome.”
Under the overall creative direction of Charles Reese, head of the BC theatre department, the production included the singing of traditional carols, spirituals, contemporary Christian songs and new choral selections. Offered to capacity crowds in BC’s Harman Chapel on both Dec. 1 and 3, the program also featured multimedia presentations, drama and Scripture.
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“This was a wonderful opportunity for the campus and community at-large to come together to worship the Christ child,” said Bryant Moxley, head of BC’s department of music and musical director for “Christmas at Bluefield.” “We pray that God will bless all those in attendance with a fresh awareness of the significance of the child whose birth we celebrate.”
In addition to BC’s music department, the program featured the school’s theatre department in dramatic portrayals of the Christmas story. Titled “The Word Became Flesh,” the production was designed to be a celebration of the birth of Christ.
“It ministered to us as a reminder that the Word truly became flesh when God chose to give us Jesus as our savior, redeemer and friend,” said Hall. “For my wife and me, it further reinforced the fact that we are so proud our daughter, Katey, is attending Bluefield.”
Both performances were followed by a reception for attendees, and both the concert and reception were open and free to the public.
“ ‘Christmas at Bluefield’ is our gift to the community,” said Moxley. “Ultimately, it is our gift to God, a gift of praise and worship in response to his ultimate gift of the Christ child.”
Chris Shoemaker (cshoemaker@bluefield.edu) is director of public relations and marketing for Bluefield College.