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Starry Inspiration: Making the Concordia Christmas mural
From a unique poem that shaped the 2025 concert theme to his travels with The Concordia Choir on the ensemble’s international tour, artist Paul Johnson had no shortage of inspiration for this year’s Christmas Concert mural.
This year marks his 17th mural, but the work never stops feeling special.
“Of all the murals, I think this is my favorite,” Johnson said. “I got to go on this unbelievable trip with the choir. But it was also the poem that inspired the theme ‘Welcome All Wonders!’ It was so different. I fell in love with the poem when Michael shared it with me toward the end of April.”
The poem, “In the Holy Nativity of Our Lord,” is by 17th-century Anglican cleric Richard Crashaw.
Welcome, all wonders in one sight! Eternity shut in a span; Summer in winter; day in night; Heaven in earth, and God in man. Great little one, whose all-embracing birth Lifts earth to heaven, stoops heav’n to earth.”
“The poem is full of wonderful contrasting images,” Johnson said. “The whole idea is mixing these things to give you a sense of the visual chaos of what it was like when Christ was born.”
With this inspiration — and a screenshot of the poem saved on his phone — Johnson joined The Concordia Choir on a tour through Sweden and Norway this past May. Despite designing the mural for nearly 20 years, he has rarely had the chance to spend extended time with the students who bring the Christmas Concerts to life.
“I had dozens and dozens of students coming up to me, saying, ‘Oh, hi, Paul. We’re so glad you’re on this trip.’ I was just amazed. It was so fun,” he said.
He continued, “I was sitting with a group of students in Amsterdam, and one of them said, ‘Do you think you’ll get some inspiration for the mural?’ And I said, ‘I know I will. Either the Lord’s going to put it in my head or I’m going to see something that totally relates to the research. I don’t know if it’ll be the first day or the last day, but I know there will be something that will happen on this trip, and I’m really excited to find out.’”
As it turns out, Johnson did not have to wait long.
He brought his camera on the trip, and it became routine for him to take photographs while the choir practiced and performed in each venue. Sometimes he’d take photos of the students, but he’d often spend as much time taking photographs of the environment around them — the beautiful churches and cathedrals that served as concert venues.
“I’ve preached to my photography students for tears, you have to be looking up and down and climbing on things and crawling under things and looking at everything to get different perspectives,” Johnson said.
In Uppsala, Johnson took his own advice. While standing in the center aisle of the church, he looked up to see massive chandeliers. He put his camera on the floor and started taking photographs.
“It was like an eclipse,” he said. “I looked up at these massive chandeliers. I bet they were 5 feet tall. I’m sure everyone thought I was crazy because my camera was on the floor and I just kept moving it, trying to get different angles.”
The next morning, Johnson showed the images to the Christmas Concert’s artistic director, Dr. Michael Culloton.
“I didn’t tell Michael anything about the photos,” he said. “I just asked, ‘What do you think of this?’ I had the photo on my phone, and he looked at me and said, ‘That’s the mural.’ And I said, ‘That’s what I think.’”
A sneak peek at a portion of the mural during stage set up
Looking at the finished product, the inspiration is evident. The orbs and circles throughout the mural are reminiscent of the candle holders. Johnson didn’t stop there — inspiration came throughout the trip.
“I used a reflection based on the wonderful reflections we saw on the fjords, just perfect mirrors,” he said. “You also have the gray of our world today reflected opposite in gold. And, of course, lots of sheep. Everything just kind of worked.”
In the end, the poem, the theme, and Johnson’s artwork all fit together — a visual cacophony worthy of a quiet, cold night, a split-second decision to look up, and a story that would change the world.
