Linda Tedford
For years, the Susquehanna Chorale’s holiday season has taken the same shape.
Come mid-December, the award-winning group stages its annual “Candlelight Christmas” concert for a weekend. Each year celebrates holiday music, traditional carols and a candlelight rendition of “Silent Night” that some in the choir call “magical.”
This year’s celebration—performed this month at three different venues in the Harrisburg area—will be different. And that difference will have little to do with song selection, performance or even the unpredictable winter weather.
Instead, 2025’s program will mark the final time Linda Tedford will be the one leading it.
“I’m nostalgic,” Tedford said recently while considering her history with the performances. “I’m also reflective. It’s a savoring-the-moment kind of thing.”
Earlier this year, Tedford announced that the current, 45th season will be her last. And while her final performance as a conductor isn’t slated until August 2026, the Christmas program has consistently been one of the chorale’s most celebrated events.
Not only is it one of the most popular live events of the holiday season, it’s also a tradition for the singers who take the stage. In turn, that tradition—along with Tedford, herself—has held a special place in many of the performers’ hearts.
Among those performers this year will be Gwen Lehman, a former chairperson of the chorale’s board. Having joined the group in 2009 with her husband, she initially met Tedford in the 1980s, when both were singing with a different group. Decades later, Lehman noted how much the chorale world will miss Tedford once she steps away.
“She has really forged a true ensemble,” Lehman said. “I’ve never sung for any director who has Linda’s ability to create a tight ensemble sound that’s the result of not just skills we’ve developed, but the family culture she creates. She treats everybody equally.”
To mark her final Christmas program holding the baton, Tedford explained how she picked pieces for the event that reflect both her history with the chorale as well as forward-thinking titles—two of which with be world premieres. Despite the time and thought she has put into curating a memorable set list, Tedford stated that one staple would be impossible to leave out, especially during her final year.
“We always end with ‘Silent Night,’ and it’s in candlelight, surrounding the audience,” she said. “It’s always a beautiful, exquisite moment when the venue is completely quiet and it’s dark, except for the candles. People say they want to come especially to hear that every single year. It’s become such a tradition.”
Lehman echoed those thoughts, even if it meant the chorale had to learn about the carol’s inclusion the hard way.
“Linda got tired of doing it one year, and the audience was deeply upset,” Lehman said with a slight chuckle. “So, now we make sure to do it every year. It’s such a special moment, and I know it’s become a family tradition for people in the area because they always tell us about it.”
Family Culture
So, what’s next for Tedford? She said that, once her conducting commitments are fulfilled in 2026, she hopes to travel with her husband and spend more time with her grandchildren. The Susquehanna Chorale has taken up so much of her time, effort and brain power over the years that it will be nice to finally “sit down after all of this,” she said.
Tedford’s absence will be noticed and her presence missed, Lehman added, as she reflected on how close the conductor has become with everyone in the group.
“It will be different without her,” Lehman admitted. “I will miss what we have. You need a sense of teamwork to be able to create beauty, and it will take time to develop that kind of family culture that we’ve enjoyed so much under Linda.”
As for Tedford, she’s not unaware of the weight that this holiday’s program carries as the dates for performances inch closer to the final bow.
“It’s going to be hard,” she said. “Actually, it’s going to be very hard. When I get the feeling of, ‘Wow, this is my last ‘Silent Night’ with the crowd.”
She paused to gather her thoughts.
“I’ve been doing this all my life,” she continued. “I’ve been singing in choirs since high school—over 50 years of doing this. I’ve seen students grow up, have babies, establish lives, and I’ve been part of their lives all this time. Every concert we’ve done, I’ve treasured the opportunity to be with these singers.”
Of course, she said, she’s going to miss it.
“Whatever you’re coming from, I’ve wanted our concerts to be an hour and a half of reflection, joy and the experience of community,” Tedford said. “It’s been beautiful in every way.”
The Susquehanna Chorale’s Candlelight Christmas concert takes place Dec. 19 at the High Center at Messiah University; Dec. 20 at Market Square Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg; and Dec. 21 at the Elizabethtown Church of the Brethren. For more information, including tickets and subscriptions, visit www.susquehannachorale.org.
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