Sounds of Christmas Ring Out in the PW Klipsch Auditorium
By Submitted , 12/8/19 9:26 PMThe historic Paul W. Klipsch Auditorium came to life with instrumental music and singing last Monday, December 2 during the Community Christmas Carol Sing-a-long. The event was a collaboration between Garrett Memorial Baptist Church and the Klipsch Museum of Audio History and featured mostly congregational singing of Christmas carols with a few performances here and there. Jim Hunter, the curator of the Klipsch Museum, started off the evening with a few words about the influence of Paul Klipsch in the community as well as the influence of the community on Paul. The congregational singing was led by Jack Daniels, worship leader at Garrett Memorial and Jay Pollen, minister of music at Unity Baptist in Hope. There were performances by JOY Trio, Arnetta Bradford, John Gladden, Bitsy Carter and Jack Johnson as well as the Garrett Memorial Wind Ensemble and Praise Team. A reading of the Christmas story from Luke chapter 2 was led by Pastor Clif Johnson from Garrett Memorial. The event started at 8pm and came right on the heels of the Christmas Parade and the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony downtown. The grand old hall was beautifully decorated with lighted garland and Christmas trees as well as theatrical lighting. The event lasted for one hour and the hall was filled with the voices of the audience ringing in the Christmas season. There was a buzz of excitement after the program with many saying that they hoped it would become an annual event. One audience member commented on social media, “It was so fun! People that say there’s nothing to do in Hope aren’t looking hard enough.” Daniels says that the plan is to make this an annual event every December.
