In collaboration with the Augustana Office of Faith & Spiritual Life, the Augustana School of Music (SoM) is inviting the public to join the university community for its 89th annual Christmas Vespers: “A Journey to Light.”
The 2026 Christmas Vespers services will once again take place at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls. The first service will be held on Friday, Dec. 4, at 7:30 p.m., and two additional services on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
“For nearly nine decades, Augustana Christmas Vespers has brought generations of students, alumni, families and our greater Sioux Falls community together through music, faith and tradition,” said Interim Dean of the SoM Matthew Erickson. “This year’s theme, ‘A Journey to Light,’ reminds us that Advent is a season of anticipation, reflection and hope. Whether you have attended Vespers for decades or will experience it for the first time, we hope you will gather with us to experience the extraordinary talents of our students.”
This year's services will feature Augustana’s choirs, the Augustana Chamber Orchestra, Augustana Brass Choir and Artist-in-Residence Matthew Whitaker.
“Vespers is a tentpole event for the university and represents months of hard work and rehearsal by our students. Each year, the students and faculty spend many hours refining the program so that the experience of our audience is both profound and satisfying. Working together on Vespers each year is tremendously inspiring for everyone involved,” said Dr. Russell Svenningsen, associate professor of music, director of vocal studies and conductor of The Augustana Choir and VikingKor.
The Augustana SoM is excited to bring you holiday cookies and hot cocoa after each performance with special postlude music by the Augustana Trombone Choir.
If you’re unable to join the SoM in person, Christmas Vespers will be available for viewing via livestream on Augustana's YouTube Channel on Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit augie.edu/vespers.
About Christmas Vespers
One of Augustana’s oldest and most beloved traditions made its debut on Dec. 18, 1938, when the Augustana Choir presented a service of Yuletide music to a full house in the gymnasium/chapel. This Vespers service ushered in the Advent and Christmas celebrations on campus — a tradition that continues to the present.
The first Vespers service was presented in three parts: The Prophecy of the Coming of the Christ Child, the Birth of the Savior and Praise of the Newborn Child. The Augustana Choir sang a majority of the program, with a women’s trio, male quartet, male duet and female solo also featured.
Christmas Vespers continued in this basic format for the next few years — evolving quickly into one of the college’s most popular and well-attended programs.