The 82nd Annual Christmas Candlelight Vespers continued its tradition of kicking off the holiday season Sunday.

Vespers, a traditional winter concert performed by the different musical ensembles of the University, has traditionally taken place in the Baldwin First United Methodist Church, but with the success of the programs and the impact it has had on the community, this year’s show was moved to Rice Auditorium.

“The move, in my mind, means that Vespers is a success,” Director of Choral Activities Matthew Potterton said. “It means that we have more opportunities for space, lighting and overall for a smooth production. It means people value the show and it’s fantastic that so many people want to come to these performances.”

Potterton always starts from scratch for the shows and takes pride in picking the works one-by-one to put together the whole show.

“I usually have one or two pieces that I have to do, which serves as my starting point,” Potterton said. “Then from there it begins the journey to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.”

Vespers is not only another musical concert, but a time for people to come together and hear the traditions that hold true at Baker University.

From the starting piece being a big African work to non-traditional Christmas songs, the concert highlighted a wide variety of music.

“I look forward to Vespers each year because I look at it as a gift to the community where we present the best we have to offer as a Christmas present to the audiences,” Potterton said.

For freshman Jenna Warmund, Vespers was something brand new, and she didn’t recognize the long-lasting tradition behind it until she got there to perform.

“I thought it was a cool experience that I got to be a part of,” Warmund said. “I literally had no idea it was such a big thing until I was standing up there and saw the whole community there to see the show.”

Senior Paul Eltschinger never thought his last Vespers would come so quickly. He has been in every program for the last four years and has enjoyed being a part of such a big tradition.

“It was so weird to be up there and think ‘this is my last one,’” Eltschinger said. “Especially during the second performance is when it really sunk in. It never really hits you until your actually here and it smacks you right in the face.”