With the last con­certs and car­ol ser­vices of 2023 now com­pleted, all that now remains is the final pre­par­a­tions for the church ser­vices and cel­eb­ra­tions to come over the next few days. 

Being a church musi­cian does entail work­ing through the night (for Mid­night Mass) on Christ­mas Eve right up to lunch­time on Christ­mas Day itself. These ser­vices come at the cul­min­a­tion of the sea­son of Advent, a time of watch­ing and wait­ing, as we move from there into the sea­son of Christ­mas (of which, for the church, Christ­mas Day is only the begin­ning). This day is one of the high points of the church year, and it is always nice to be able to turn from all the ‘extern­al’ events (which are them­selves enjoy­able) dur­ing the run-up to Christ­mas, to these church festivities.

We have some fant­ast­ic music ready to con­trib­ute to the ser­vices at Great St Mary’s this year (includ­ing a rather spe­cial vol­un­tary for Mid­night…), to which I am very much look­ing for­ward. There is, of course, an added poignancy that this will be my last Christ­mas in Cam­bridge, so I am look­ing for­ward to going out on a high! You can find out more about Great St Mary’s Christ­mas ser­vices on this page.

Wish­ing a very Happy Christ­mas 2023 to one and all, and look­ing for­ward to everything that 2024 will bring! 

Bene­dict