The Mercer community gathers for a beloved tradition of flickering candles, dazzling decorations and cherished carols in Toney Auditorium every December. For the second year in a row, the tree lighting will feature two singing groups: the Mercer Singers and a chorus made up of students from Roberts Academy, a local transitional school for children with dyslexia.
The annual Christmas Tree Lighting, organized by the Student Government Association, brings festive spirit and cheer to kick off the holiday season on campus and signal the end to each fall semester. The 6 p.m. event will be followed by QuadWorks' annual Winter Wonderland in Mercer Village this Thursday, Dec. 4.
Over the years, the Christmas Tree Lighting has spanned across four different outdoor locations before moving inside the Toney Auditorium a couple of years ago. Despite the location changes, the Mercer Singers have continued to be a highlight at the tree lighting, ringing in the holidays with classic carols.
“We’ve sung for the Christmas tree lighting, gosh, for a long time. At least as long as I have been here,” Stanley Roberts, director of choral studies, said. Roberts has been working at Mercer for three decades, and before that, he stood among the Mercer Singers as a student when he attended Mercer 45 years ago.
“It's just always a fun and festive thing,” Roberts said. “There’s a sweetness about everyone singing these carols together.”
The Mercer Singers do not have official practices for their tree lighting performance, Roberts said. Instead, the singing group has been rehearsing four times a week for hours on end in preparation for their larger, upcoming Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols concert at St. Joseph's Catholic Church this weekend.
Because this concert demands so much new music on top of the other arrangements the students have learned throughout the semester, Roberts selected pieces from the Singers’ preexisting repertoire to perform at the tree lighting event instead of giving them new material.
“We have to kind of make use of the same thing,” Roberts said. “They have to learn so much music already. It’s a lot to absorb.”
Tree lighting attendees can anticipate hearing two featured pieces presented by 50 Mercer Singer members and five brass players. They will perform a rhythmic jazz rendition of "Sing We Now of Christmas” and a gentler melodic piece called “In the Bleak Midwinter.”
In addition to these pieces, the Mercer Singers will sing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” with students from Roberts Academy, according to Jamie Dickson, the director of marketing communications at the academy.
“Our students love singing with the Mercer Singers. They are in awe of their talent,” Dickson said. “Several of our students have even mentioned wanting to be a part of Mercer Singers one day.”
Roberts Academy students will also have a moment to shine independently from Mercer when singing “Deck the Halls,” Dickson said. The young singers have spent the last month rehearsing with their music teacher, Monica Fenimore, in preparation for their performance at the lighting.
Sixth-grader Sawyer Acres said he is looking forward to “hanging out with friends and spreading the joy of Christmas,” while his classmate, Laina Kate Wright, said she is most looking forward to singing with Mercer students to “share the joy.”
This will be Roberts Academy’s second year singing alongside the Mercer Singers at the lighting. It is a tradition that Dickson is hopeful will continue.
“Anytime we have an opportunity to work with a Mercer organization, we take it,” he said. “The more our students are exposed to what's possible after secondary school, the more likely they are to make big goals and believe they can achieve them.”
Savannah Legg ‘26 will be singing at her fourth and final tree lighting this Thursday. She said that there is something special about helping lead the crowd in carols. For her, it's not merely a performance, but a feeling that envelops the whole auditorium.
“It's the overwhelming sense of joy in the room,” Legg said. “We aren't just a choir singing for a crowd. Every single person in the room is joining together, bonded by Christmastime nostalgia.”
For Roberts, the heart of the tradition lies in the whole community creating music together.
“Younger generations are used to music being made for them on iPods rather than making music for themselves,“ Rogers said. “Music is the great equalizer, something we can all do. It's a great way to raise our voices and have a moment of commonality and peace and enjoy being and singing together.”
Legg encouraged the Mercer community to join the festivities as they wrap up more than four months of exams, papers and presentations across Mercer’s campus.
“It is a magical experience, and allows us all to take a breath at the end of a very long, enduring semester,” Legg said.
Clara Kurczak '29 is majoring in journalism at Mercer University. She loves capturing moments and bringing stories to life with her camera and pen. When she is not working on articles, Clara enjoys listening to music, spending time with the people she cares about and reading anything she can get her hands on.
