Swedesburge church has Julotta service solo

SWEDESBURG - The Swedesburg Evangelical Lutheran Church usually only have choral arrangements twice a month, but this year the church will have two performances during its Christmas Eve services.

Christmas Eve services are at 5 and 11 p.m.

This year, the choir - made up of about 10 people - will be performing 'O Come All Ye Faithful” and there also will be a performance from church member Aaron Kimzey.

'Last year he'd sing with us maybe once a month,” said Brooke Smith, the church's choral director. 'But he hasn't been able to show up as much for the past few.”

Kimzey has been largely absent from the church due to undergrad classes at Monmouth College, which is where he was assigned the solo he'll be performing.

The piece, an aria called 'The People that Walked in Darkness,” is from an oratorio from Handel titled 'Messiah.” Though he's not a vocal music major, one of Kimzey's teachers recommended it to him as a piece that could challenge him.

'I mentioned to the organist at Swedesburg that I'd been working on this piece for about 16 weeks,” Kimzey said.

He will only be performing his solo at the 11 p.m. service: the Julotta service.

'It's a traditional Swedish service that would normally be at 6 a.m. on Christmas,” Kimzey said. 'But I don't think I could sing that early.”

According to Smith, Kimzey won't be the only additional singer.

'During Christmas, people come back home a lot,” she said. 'Usually we end up having a few more in the choir.”