Concordia reveals the theme of its upcoming 100th Christmas Concert
The theme of the 100th Concordia Christmas Concerts will be “Child of Promise, Shine Through Us.”
To mark the occasion, special events, surprises, and remembrances are being planned for the concerts in Moorhead as well as the concerts at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, said Dr. Michael Culloton, artistic director of the Christmas Concert and director of choral activities at Concordia.
The theme was inspired by the works of three poets, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and a pair of pastors.
“For 99 Christmas concerts, the light of Christ, the story of Christ’s narrative, the joy of the season, the messages of peace, hope, and love have shined through these concerts,” Culloton said. “And we need that now. We need to hear our students singing and playing these messages of hope and love and peace and joy.”
The 2026 Concordia Christmas Concerts will be performed in Memorial Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6; and at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public in October.
More information is available at ConcordiaCollege.edu/Christmas.
Inspiration
Three days after the final 2025 Christmas Concert, during a Trinity Lutheran Church concert, Culloton’s attention was caught by a reading from Bonhoeffer: “The infinite mercy of Almighty God comes to us in the form of a child, His son... My very life now depends entirely on all these things. A child has our life in his hands.”
Another piece of the puzzle came from the liturgical poetry of Susan Sherwin: “the shepherds hear the song of the stars falling around them like snow, white and gold from the deep blue of night, God's promise that the night shall not be forever, that light will come into the world.”
A different poem, “The Decree” by Ann Weems, includes a final line of: “We come, one by one, and yet, as one, dancing into the Promise.”
And finally, “Every Given Light” from liturgical poet Jan Richardson, ends with: “This is the day when every given light bears forth like a star, turning its face toward us with the brilliance that was there all along, that it had saved just for us, just for the joy of seeing us shine.”
The pieces of the theme were there, and a list of suggestions from Concordia’s campus pastors, the Revs. Dave and Kim Adams, included all the elements that Culloton wanted for the 100th Concordia Christmas Concert: “Child of Promise, Shine Through Us.”