Spreading joy with every note they sing, the Diocese of Bridgeport Choir for Youth, C4Y, will perform its annual "Arise and Shine" Christmas concert at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 17 at ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´â€™s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.
“These young people and those who join them will continue to give new life to our Church."
— — Bishop Frank J. Caggiano
In what has been described as one of the most uplifting and inspiring events of the year, the diocese's 100-member youth choir will perform an impressive selection of Christmas songs and chants from across a variety of eras and cultures, under the skillful direction of Mary Bozzuti Higgins.
“It’s absolutely other-worldly. It’s sheer joy for me,” Higgins told The Norwalk Hour in an interview last year. “Once the kids experience this concert, I think they’re changed forever too.”
Annual concert favorites such as “Festival Sanctus” and “Arise and Shine” will share the stage with stirring new performances of “Let There Be Peace on Earth” and “Calypso Lullabye,” both of which will feature solos by well-known gospel singer Adrienne Reedy.
Noted area musicians will lend their talents to support the choir, including accompanist Clay Zambo, Dr. Jessica Raposo on flute, Dr. Ralph Kirmser on oboe, Nicholas Loafman on trumpet, and Don O’Keefe on percussion.
Interspersed between songs, this year’s scripture passages will be read in Vietnamese, Ukrainian, and Spanish – a reflection of the diversity of both the choir and the 460,000 Fairfield county Catholics who together form the Diocese of Bridgeport.
Open to students from seventh grade through senior year of high school, the C4Y youth choir was formed by Most Reverend Frank J. Caggiano, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, in 2015 as a way to engage young people in the Church, connect them with one another, and encourage them to share their talents and deepen their faith. Drawing from over 40 Fairfield county parishes and schools, the choir performs at Masses, special events, and concerts.
“These young people and those who join them will continue to give new life to our Church. They are the beginning of this renewal that you and I have been praying for," Bishop Caggiano told the audience at the conclusion of last year’s C4Y Christmas concert. "There is only one word I can think of to describe what you just experienced, and that word is ‘Wow!’ ”
Last month, the C4Y choir was filmed for a TV special scheduled to air over the Christmas holiday on Shalom World TV, a Catholic TV channel reaching English-speaking viewers worldwide. To experience the lively spirit and mellifluous voices of these talented young people live in concert, mark your calendar for the December 17 th "Arise and Shine" concert at ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´'s Quick Center for the Arts and purchase tickets using the link below.
General Admission tickets are available but selling quickly for $20. Purchase tickets online at or call the Quick Center Box Office at 203-254-4010.
