An Evening of Readings & Carols

2025 Performances

Westminster Choir College of Rider University's will be hosting its popular holiday concert with evenings of holiday music and readings, featuring performances by Chapel Choir, Symphonic Choir, Jubilee Singers, Concert Bell Choir, and the Westminster Choir on Friday, December 12th and Saturday, December 13th, 2025 at 8 p.m. in the Princeton University Chapel.

Tickets will be available for purchase online beginning November 3, 2025 at 10 a.m. Visit our event page for additional details and to purchase your tickets.

2025 Patron Program

Reserve your tickets in advance by becoming a Readings and Carols Patron. Patrons will receive premium seating for the performance, recognition in the concert program, and – most importantly – the satisfaction of supporting Westminster Choir College’s deserving students through a contribution to the Westminster Scholarship Fund. The Patron Program runs from October 1 through October 24.

BECOME A PATRON - FRIDAY DEC. 12

BECOME A PATRON - SATURDAY DEC. 13

2025 Alumni Choir

We are thrilled to invite our Westminster alumni to be a part of the 33rd Evening of Readings and Carols, taking place on December 12th and 13th, 2025 at the Princeton University Chapel.

This cherished tradition offers the Westminster family a chance to reunite and celebrate the season through music. Alumni play a vital role in this event, bringing their unique spirit and experiences to inspire our students and the larger community. Your participation strengthens the bonds that make Westminster so special.

This year, we are especially excited to welcome back Donald Nally, conductor and fellow alumnus. Donald will lead the Westminster Choir and Westminster Symphonic Choir, with organ professor and Westminster alum Michael Diorio at the great Mander-Skinner organ of the Princeton University Chapel. As an alumni participant, you’ll work alongside Donald, Michael, our distinguished conducting faculty, and all of the students at the school in a wonderful musical experience in this unparalleled setting, singing carols and several favorite “motets,” including Lauridsen’s O magnum mysterium and Dr. Pilkington’s I Wonder as I Wander, conducted by the composer!

Rehearsals & Performances

Rehearsals:
Thursday, December 11
Alumni Choir Rehearsal: 3:30–5:30 p.m. (Location TBA)
Tutti Rehearsal: 7:00–11:00 p.m. (Princeton University Chapel)

Performances:
Friday, December 12 & Saturday, December 13
8:00 p.m. (Princeton University Chapel)
Call times tentatively set for 6:00 p.m.

If you are able to join us for the rehearsals and performances, please register by October 26th using the form here. Detailed information regarding repertoire, call times, and concert dress will be provided in early November.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to the Performance Management team at performancemgmt@rider.edu

We look forward to celebrating this tradition with you!

A Note from Donald Nally

I’m honored to be spending my second year as Visiting Professor at Westminster. We’re currently singing a lot of “Westminster rep” (Bairstow, Howells, Finzi, Brahms) along with the music of today, and we’re loving all of it. We’ll do more of that “Westminster literature” in the 2025 Readings and Carols, with various choirs singing Poulenc, Victoria, Leighton, and Lauridsen. We hope you’ll join us in the Princeton U Chapel Chancel – a place where every one of us ‘grew up’ just a little bit.’ I look forward to returning there, looking out to a full nave, conducting a full chancel, and embracing our part in the history of the Choir College while doing the thing we do best: sing together. Be there!

2025 WWFM Broadcasts

WWFM The Classical Network will broadcast Westminster Choir College’s An Evening of Readings and Carols this 2025 season. Radio broadcasts will be held on Monday, December 15, 2025 at 8:00 p.m. & Thursday, December 25, 2025 (Christmas Day) at 3:00 p.m.

WWFM The Classical Network broadcasts on the radio throughout much of New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. It can also be heard online worldwide at wwfm.org, where listeners can find more broadcast details.