You’re invited to Wassail – A beloved Chapman University tradition

By Giulio Ongaro

I have had a career as faculty member in musicology, and later as administrator, at three previous institutions in the United States, but I was born and brought up in Venice, Italy, where my upbringing included a lot of exposure to all the performing and visual arts.  I have spent the last 24 years in California and during this period I have been able to follow the success of Chapman University under the leadership of Jim Doti, one of the most respected leaders in American higher education.

It is Chapman’s reputation and that of its
College of Performing Arts
that made me leave behind colleagues and students I loved and respected to join this team as CoPA dean. With the opening of the new Musco Center for the Arts in March 2016, our faculty will be able to have a state-of-the-art facility, whose stated purpose is to create a better learning environment for our students. There is truly no better place than Chapman and no better time than now to be at the head of a performing arts program.

Chapman is also a place where traditions are cherished and nurtured, and one of the most important traditions is our annual Holiday Wassail Banquet and Concert, now in its 52
^nd
year – one of Orange County’s oldest holiday musical traditions. I must confess I am not unreservedly fond of the holiday season. As my family knows well, my tolerance for holiday shopping at the mall is very limited, and I could probably do without all the novelty arrangements of traditional Christmas carols.

Ticket Info and more

Friday and Saturday, Dec. 4 and 5
Wassail Banquet and Concert
Enjoy elegant reception and dinner and strolling Victorian singers, followed by a concert presented by the University Women’s Choir (Chelsea Dehn, conductor), University Choir and University Singers (Stephen Coker, conductor), and The Chapman Orchestra (Daniel Alfred Wachs, conductor).

Reception and dinner at 6 p.m. in Fish Interfaith Center; Concert at 8 p.m. in Memorial Hall; $75 per person.

“Concert Only” tickets — $20 general admission; $15 senior citizens, alumni and non-Chapman students; $10 CU community.

But tickets online at  chapman.universitytickets.com.

The Wassail Concert is a different thing, though. It is a moment for our faculty, students, alumni and friends to come together, and celebrate the season. I have caught bits and pieces of previous concerts, thanks to the magic of YouTube and PBS, and I can’t wait to hear our students on the stage.

I am still in awe of the work the students of our College of Performing Arts did at the annual American Celebration the first weekend of November. These students are not only talented, but they are also special in many other ways: they are dedicated to their art, eager to learn, supportive of one another and genuinely fun to be around. They are the best part of my job and I can’t wait to share their talents with you.

Come and join us at Wassail this weekend for some holiday cheer!