One of Salina's most beloved Christmas traditions will continue, in spite of COVID-19. Kansas Wesleyan's "Christmas by Candlelight" will be held in a virtual format on Dec. 6 at 6 p.m.
"Christmas by Candlelight," as always, will feature choral and instrumental students from the KWU Department of Music—including various orchestras and choirs—under the direction of several talented faculty members, teaming with area high school choirs to help celebrate the season. This year, Fili Creative, a local video company owned by Gus Applequist '14, will record and produce the efforts into a television-like special that will be streamed free of charge.
The tradition of a Christmas concert at KWU dates back, at minimum, to the 1950s, when the philharmonic choir would put on its annual Yule Program. While there were periodic mentions of candlelight being involved in the program during the ensuing decades, the Christmas by Candlelight title came into being, for good, in 1982.
The precise link to the stream will be announced on KWU social media outlets and via the performance's official web site, KWU.edu/CBCL20.