Star of Bethlehem

Star of BethlehemStella Natalis & Joy to the World by Karl Jenkins14 November 2026 | 19:00Odeion AuditoriumAs the festive season approaches, audiences are invited to experience the beauty, warmth and joy of Christmas through the powerful choral music of renowned Welsh composer Karl Jenkins.Stella Natalis & Joy to the World brings together two of Jenkins’s evocative Christmas works in a programme filled with soaring choral writing, colourful orchestration and beloved seasonal melodies. Presented by Alumni Voices, the concert promises an uplifting musical journey celebrating peace, goodwill, compassion and new beginnings.Written in 2009, Stella natalis — meaning “star of birth” — explores different facets of Christmastide across twelve movements. Drawing on a rich variety of texts, including the Psalms, writings by Carol Barratt and Zulu text, Jenkins creates a work that is both deeply rooted in the Christmas story and universal in its message of hope and peace.The programme also features selections from Joy to the World, in which Jenkins turns his distinctive musical style to traditional Christmas carols from around the world. Audiences can look forward to familiar melodies from Germany, France, Spain and the Caribbean, freshly arranged to create a vibrant international celebration of Christmas.The programme includes highlights such as Celebro, Lullay, Sleep, Child of Winter, Make We Merry, The Protector, Sing With Joy at Christmas and Jubilate Deo, alongside carols including O Jesus So Sweet, In Dulci Jubilo, Son of Maria and Go Tell It on the Mountain.At the helm is renowned choral conductor and educator Leona Geldenhuys, founder and Artistic Director of Alumni Voices. Founded in 2003 as Voices Incorporated, the ensemble merged with the Alumni Chamber Choir in 2013 to become Alumni Voices, a choir comprising primarily former university choir members.Geldenhuys brings extensive local and international choral experience to the production. She has served as Artistic Director of the award-winning Eunice Vitae Cantamus Senior Choir since 2010 and founded the Eunice Junior Choir in 2016. Her international experience includes choral training and workshops in England, the United States, Australia and Spain, as well as participation in major choral development initiatives in South Africa.With its combination of powerful choral voices, international Christmas traditions and Jenkins’s unmistakable musical language, Stella Natalis & Joy to the World offers audiences an opportunity to pause, celebrate and enter the Christmas season through music.Come and experience an evening — or afternoon — of The Star of Bethlehem, that celebrates the universal spirit of Christmas: peace, joy, compassion and hope.