MusicSunday, December 6
Do You Hear What I Hear?
Sunday, December 6 · 5-7 p.m. · St. Paul's Lutheran Church
- When
- Sunday, December 6 · 5-7 p.m.
- Where
- St. Paul's Lutheran Church4900 Connecticut Avenue Northwest · Washington, DC · 20008
- Good to know
About this event
The question at the heart of the Christmas story is an invitation to listen. Shepherds, kings, a mother, a night sky — each one hears the same wonder differently, and each one is changed by it. In Do You Hear What I Hear? , the Washington Douglass Chorale gathers those many voices into one celebration, honoring the two great traditions that live side by side in this ensemble.
You'll hear the radiant sweep of the European sacred repertoire, Bruckner's Ave Maria , Michael John Trotta's luminous O Magnum Mysterium , and Dan Forrest's tender setting of Silent Night , set alongside the fervor and joy of the American spiritual, in Stacey Gibbs's arrangement of The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy and Rosephanye Powell's exhilarant The Word Was God . Carols new and beloved carry the story forward, from In the Bleak Midwinter to How Great Our Joy , with brass and percussion featured in The Dream Isaiah Saw , Praise the Birth , and the title work that gives the afternoon its name.
Come listen. However you hear it, the story is one worth gathering to tell, and there is room in it for every voice.
Date & Time
Sunday, December 6, 2026 | 5:00 PM
Location
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church ( 4900 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 )
Get Tickets
Free Preview Performance: November 13
Get an early listen. The Washington Douglass Chorale will perform a free preview of Do You Hear What I Hear? as part of the OLLI Concert Series, hosted by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at American University.
Date & Time
Friday, November 13, 2026 | 4:30–6:00 PM
Location
Katzen Arts Center, Abramson Family Recital Hall ( 4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 )
Admission
Free. Registration is required through OLLI. Light refreshments follow the performance.
Register for the Free Preview
Program
• O Magnum Mysterium — Michael John Trotta
• The Word Was God — Rosephanye Powell
• Praise the Birth (from The Christmas Story ) — Ron Nelson (with brass & percussion)
• Ave Maria — Anton Bruckner
• The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy — arr. Stacey V. Gibbs
• How Great Our Joy — arr. Craig Courtney
• Peter Go Ring Dem Bells — arr. Noble Cain
• In the Bleak Midwinter — arr. Alvin Trotman
• Wamuhle Lomtwana — Traditional Zulu
• Joy to the World — arr. Taylor Scott Davis
• Mary Had a Little Lamb — Cedric Dent
• Silent Night — arr. Dan Forrest
• A Christmas Wish — Michael McElroy, Joseph Joubert & Buryl Red
• The Dream Isaiah Saw — Glenn L. Rudolph (with brass & percussion)
• Do You Hear What I Hear? — arr. Ian Fraser (with brass & percussion)
Explore the program through reference performances by other artists and ensembles.
Co-Artistic Directors
Theodore Thorpe III
Theodore Thorpe III is a versatile conductor, educator, and composer recognized for his leadership in the Washington music community.
He serves as Music Director at Alfred Street Baptist Church, Artistic Director for Washington Performing Arts, and Director of Choral Activities at Alexandria City High School.
His choirs have performed at national events including Kennedy Center Honors and Christmas in Washington, earning top honors nationwide.
Learn more →
Scott Tucker
Scott Tucker is an acclaimed choral conductor who has collaborated with leading orchestras including the National Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Orchestra.
As Artistic Director of the Choral Arts Society of Washington (2012–2022), he led numerous acclaimed performances at the Kennedy Center.
Renowned for his artistry and vision, Tucker continues to inspire excellence and unity through choral music.
Learn more →
Venue
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
Founded in 1843 as Washington, D.C.’s first English-speaking Lutheran congregation, St. Paul’s has long served the city from its Gothic church on Connecticut Avenue.
The cornerstone of the present church was laid in 1930, and the completed building was dedicated in 1958.
Learn more about St. Paul’s history →
Experience Washington Douglass Chorale
Lift Every Voice, May 18, 2025
From Washington Douglass Chorale
Listed by OvationTix: United States, Washington Douglass Chorale (Squarespace) and 3T Music (Squarespace), gathered by the Bowie events calendar.