Closing Out 2015

Thank You Carolers!

2015 is quickly drawing to a close and with it our caroling season has also come to an end. I have to admit that after our very first practice, I wasn't sure if we would be able to get things together in four weeks, but you rose to the challenge. I've received many positive and appreciative comments from around town, and I hope you have too. Next year we may be picking up one more performance - during Julebukking at the Sons of Norway…

[Click through to read rest of e-mail sent out to Carolers.]

[Video] Carolers at the Winter Concert

I know you’re just dying to see yourself singing! Here is a 12-minute video of our performance during the Community Winter Concert on December 21 at the Petersburg Lutheran Church.

Video courtesy of Thomas Stathem.

Carolers Mentioned in Show Me Alaska

Photo credit: Suzanne Ashe

In a write-up of Julebukking and holiday traditions in Petersburg, the Oxford Carolers are the lead-in photo (seen above) of the article.

See the Show Me Alaska aticle here.

During the holidays, Petersburg parties Norwegian-style Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like moose milk, pickled squid, lefse and lutefisk.

Songs for Our Performances

Here are our performances and a selection of songs at each one.

Holiday Literary

December 19 - 1 p.m. at the Public Library. Meet at the Presbyterian Church at 12:30 p.m. for warm-up and quick run-through of songs.

• A Christmas Round
• Rocking
• Sing We Now of Christmas

Museum Open House

December 20 - 1:30 p.m. at Clausen Memorial Museum (Open House begins at 1 p.m. but entertainment will commence at 1:30 p.m.). Meet at the Presbyterian Church at 1:00 p.m. for warm-up and quick run through, and then walk/drive over to museum.

• Caroling, Caroling
• Cold December's Winds Were Stilled
• Gloucestershire Wassail

Community Holiday Concert

December 21 - 7:00 p.m. at the Lutheran Church. Meet at church downstairs at 6:30 p.m. for warm-up and run through. This is based on a beginning/end two-section performance we've done in past years.

First Part

• I Saw Three Ships
• Sussex Carol
• Carol of the Bells

Second Part

• Milford
• Gloucestershire Wassail
• Join audience for carol(s)

Julebukking

December 24 - I still need to speak with PMC when they want us. I think it's usually been around 11:00-11:30 a.m. We'll do three or four at Long Term Care, then one or two near the Nurse's Station before heading out to sing a few songs about shops. Including walking time between stops, we're looking at 60-75 minutes total.

Performance Dates and Places - December 2015

Dates to Mark on Your Calendar

Here are the dates and times to mark on your calendar.

• December 19 (Sat) - Holiday Literary at the Public Library - 1:00-3:00 p.m.
• December 20 (Sun) - Clausen Museum Open House - 1:30 p.m.
• December 21 (Mon) - Community Holiday Concert, Petersburg Lutheran Church - 7:00 p.m.
• December 24 (Thu) - Julebukking around town - time TBD, meeting at PMC Long-Term Care

Caroling Practices

We're getting a later-than-usual start on practicing this year, so in addition to sticking with songs we've used in the past I think we need to meet twice a week. I'm sure not everyone is able to make all practices, but if you are able to make as many as you can that will indeed be helpful.

I am thinking about meeting for practices on Mondays and Thursdays for the next three weeks. We will meet at the Presbyterian Church at 5:30 p.m. for practices.

We have one performance scheduled: the Museum Open House on December 20. Musical performances will begin between 1:30 and 2:00 p.m.

We'll also keep our tradition of caroling about downtown during Julebukking. We've typically gone around on Christmas Eve (24th) so unless there's a major change to the Julebukking schedule, that's when we should plan on caroling.

List of songs and practice accompaniment for 2015

Since it looks like rehearsal period will be quite short this season with my absence during the first part of November, I've chosen to stick with songs that are already familiar to most returning Carolers.

I've uploaded the accompaniment audio tracks here. This will open up to a Google Drive folder containing individual tracks and an "Oxford 2015.zip" file containing all the tracks as a single download.


You should notice that nearly all songs have an (all) version as well as (S), (A), (T), and (B) versions.

• (all) - All four parts at equal volume
• (S) - Soprano emphasized
• (A) - Alto emphasized
• (T) - Tenor emphasized
• (B) - Bass emphasized

The exception is Sussex Carol in which verses 1, 2 and 4 are in (SA) and (TB) combinations and verse 3 is separated into all four. 

Please also note that the tempos are generally slower than what will be used to perform. The ending of the Carol of the Bells is somewhat rushed because I didn't have the time to precisely work out and record the holds and ritardandos properly for each track. I hope you understand. 

Here is the revised song list for 2015.

• Carol of the Bells
• Caroling, Caroling
• Cold December's Winds
• Gloucestershire Wassail
• I Saw Three Ships
• Milford
• Rocking
• Sing We Now of Christmas
• Sussex Carol