Join us for Christmas Eve at St. Philip’s and experience beautiful music and liturgy intertwined as part of this celebration of our Lord's Nativity! 

The two evening services at 8:00 and 11:00 pm will feature St. Philip’s own Chancel Choir and Folk Choir members, guest organist Ted Stewart, and regional vocal artists, including Brevard College and Brevard Music Center student alumni and faculty. Guest singers include Jackson Ray, Doug Grimm, Sydney Windham, and Carrina Macaluso. Gabriella Lujon, a Brevard College student soprano who sings in the Chancel Choir, also will be with us. 

A pre-service concert and carol singing will begin about 30 minutes before each service (at 7:30 and 10:30 pm). Congregational singing is welcome. The concert and church service will feature antiphonal a cappella singing and traditional Christmas favorites conducted by our Director of Music, Dr. Brittnee Siemon.

Please plan to come early and enjoy the gift of music on Christmas Eve!

About our guest singers

Doug Grimm, described as a “handsome-voiced” baritone by Voix des Arts, is a baritone in his first year of a master’s degree at Ohio University. A recent graduate of UNC – Greensboro with a dual degree in vocal performance and arts administration, Doug has worked in both theatrical and operatic stage productions for almost 16 years, most recently playing Ben in Giancarlo Menotti’s The Telephone and premiering several smaller one-act opera roles with Greensboro Opera’s outreach, Opera at the Carolina. In the spring of 2023, he will be performing the role of John Brooke in Mark Adamo’s Little Women. He is active with arts nonprofits, including the Brevard Music Center. His foremost love is sharing the beauty and joy of opera with those around him and working towards creating and developing an American culture that values this beautiful art form. Doug is currently a student of Dr. Daniel Stein, a former student of Dr. Robert Bracey, and currently works with legendary coach Dr. Arlene Shrut. When not on stage, Doug can be found on a hike, at the rock wall, or spending time with his family, his girlfriend, or his dear friends. 

Carrina Macaluso is a classically trained mezzo-soprano pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she is studying with Dr. Jeanne Fischer. Carrina is heavily involved in UNC’s opera program. She was most recently seen performing the role of Charity in Hildegard Von Bingen's Ordo Virtutum directed by Dr. Marc Callahan in April, 2022. She was previously seen in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea portraying the role of Seneca and covering for the role of Arnalta, also under the direction of Dr. Marc Callahan. Carrina serves as a choral scholar at University Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill, and works as a voice teacher at Carolina Friends School in Durham, NC. After graduating from UNC, Carrina hopes to continue her studies in vocal performance and vocal pedagogy.

Jackson Ray, a native of Asheville, is a tenor who attends the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston Salem, NC studying under tenor faculty member Glenn Siebert. During his first year at UNCSA, Jackson performed as a soloist with the UNCSA Orchestra, singing selections from Bach and Handel. Jackson recently made his professional debut as Giuseppe in Verdi's La Traviata, produced by Piedmont Opera. He also has performed in many other productions produced by the A.J Fletcher Opera Institute, UNCSA Undergraduate Opera Workshop and Piedmont Opera. When not singing, Jackson enjoys cycling, snowboarding, and spending time with his dog Ruby. Jackson is thrilled to be back singing at St. Philip's under the direction of his former teacher, Dr. Brittnee Siemon/

Sydney Windham is a graduate of Brevard College and is currently earning her MM in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Ohio University. Notable work with Brevard College choirs includes Miserere by Zelenka, Rejoice in the Lamb by Britten, Dixit Dominus by Ignocio de Jerusalem, Missa brevis in F by Haydn, and Messe basse by Faure. She has been a featured soloist with the Transylvania Choral Society and Brevard Philharmonic. Her favorite productions at Brevard College were Into the Woods (Cinderella), Life of Galileo (Andrea), and Mr. Burns, a Post Electric Play (Quincy, Bart Simpson). In 2019, she was a young artist with Harrower Opera and she was also accepted into the Brevard Music Center’s Janiec Opera Company in 2020. At Ohio University, Sydney is a Graduate Teaching Assistant. She teaches private voice lessons to a number of undergraduate and graduate students, and she also teaches Class Voice for undergraduate music majors. At Ohio University, Sydney had the pleasure of performing in Hansel and Gretel as Gretel last April. In 2023, Sydney will be performing in Ohio University’s production of Little Women as Beth March. Sydney is thrilled to be back in the best place in the world making some great music!