All is Bright: Christmas Concert 2019

The Saint Andrew’s Christmas Concert is the church’s largest annual non-service production. The theme for 2019: “All is Bright” meant the show was a collection of music picked to foster a cheerful, family-friendly and high-energy celebration of the birth of Jesus as the light of the world. Some songs and hymns were chosen specifically for audience sing-along, while others were intended to dazzle and impress. Lighting was supportive of both of these goals by using soft light sources behind the choir to involve the architecture’s white surfaces and add a colorful glow to the Saint Andrew’s Sanctuary or “Family room of God,” as lead Pastor Chap Clarke describes it. Audience was additionally partially lit for sing-along moments, making the whole room feel like a part of the show. For the flashy, showy songs, contrast was created by dousing the room into rich, saturated colors, enabling music-supportive effects like flashes and fades to slice through the air and visually translate the singers’ emotion. This show presented a complex set of challenges in that not only would there be varying “fully bright” and “high contrast” states for the live-stream video, but it was also broadcast to IMAG screens and other rooms on campus while beginning in partial sunlight through the glass roof. Collaboration with the video department and the designed ability to set key light levels to measured standards enabled the show to look good for both audiences simultaneously.

Special thanks to: PRG Los Angeles

Directed by: Brandon Muchow

Choir Direction: Michael Busch

Sound: Joe Cristina Video: Paul Velazquez

St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church