Indianapolis Symphonic Choir’s Festival of Carols to feature work by Greenwood choirs director

Next week, people far and wide will come to Indianapolis to hear holiday carols — including one written by a local teacher.

Daniel Watson, the director of choirs at Greenwood Community High School, was chosen as the winner of the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir has announced the winner of the 2023 Christmas Carol Commission Competition. The annual competition seeks an “outstanding original and unpublished” Christmas or holiday piece that’ll be performed by the choir at its annual Festival of Carols performance next week. The Festival of Carols is a “Midwest family tradition” filled with performances of a variety of holiday favorites, with “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “The Prayer” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” along with new compositions, according to the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir.

“This is my first time submitting to the competition,” Watson said. “I’m thrilled to be chosen.”

Described by the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir as a versatile Indianapolis-based composer, teacher and musician, Watson has taught at Greenwood schools since 2020. His choirs regularly earn “State Vocal Jazz Finalist,” “Best Section” and “With Distinction” honors at competitions, according to the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir.

He is also an associate faculty of voice at Indiana University Indianapolis, maintains an active private music studio, and regularly collaborates and performs in the community through conducting, piano and vocal performance and composing. In 2015, Watson received the Outstanding Future Music Educator of the Year Award from the Indiana Music Education Association. In 2014 and 2015, he received the National Association for Music Education National Professional Achievement Award. He has performed, directed and premiered compositions at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center, as well as throughout the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and the U.S.

Watson has wanted to submit a piece for the Christmas Carol Commission Competition for years but always missed the deadline. This year, he put the deadline on his calendar to make sure he wouldn’t miss it. For the carol, he wanted to write one that he’d enjoy writing, performing, rehearsing and listening to, he said.

“I was thinking about all the Christmas carols I love, and I wanted to write something peppy and upbeat and joyful,” he said. “There’s a lot of music out there and when I think [of] carols, they’re slower carols. I love those, but I wanted to put my name on something that was upbeat and peppy and joyful.”

He also wanted something inspired by the text of the Bible. Christmas is all about celebrating good news — the birth of Jesus Christ — so Watson turned to the gospel of Luke and the story of the birth of Christ. This is where the text of “GOOD NEWS!” came from, he said.

“It introduces all the characters that were present before, during the birth of Christ,” Watson said. “So you’ve got the angel appearing to the shepherd, mother Mary trying to make sense of the news that the angels telling her that she’s bearing the son of God. The piece is very upbeat, and happy because it’s introducing all of these characters with excitement and joy to share the good news.”

In the summer, Watson submitted “GOOD NEWS!” When he received an email in the fall that his piece had been chosen, he jumped out of the chair with excitement, he said.

“I’m normally the person who if I’m watching TV alone or whatnot, I’m not out loud laughing even though I am with other people,” he said. “So for me to jump and be excited alone was a cool feeling.”

Watson planned to tell his students this week that he won the competition, he said. Some students already know since he posted about it on his private business accounts and said congratulations, he said.

“GOOD NEWS!” will make its public debut during the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir’s annual Festival of Carols on Dec. 13 at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University in Indianapolis, followed by additional performances at The Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel on Dec. 16 and 17. The choir will be joined by guests including Indianapolis cabaret singer Anthony Nunziata, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, the Spotlight Choir from Ben Davis High School and Santa Claus.

Watson can’t wait for his composition to debut and plans to be at each performance, he said.

“I’m most looking forward to seeing [the] singers and audience members feeling the music, just feeling the joy of the piece,” he said.

It’s also a full circle moment for Watson, who used to perform with the choir, along with his wife Bethany, from 2015 to 2020.

“I am just really, really thrilled for this piece of music to be sung by my colleagues and my friends in my home community,” Watson said.

IF YOU GO

Festival of Carols

What: A Midwest family tradition filled with performances of a variety of holiday favorites, the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir will be joined by guest artists including one of Indy’s favorite cabaret singers Anthony Nunziata and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Spotlight Choir from Ben Davis High School and Santa. American Sign Language interpretation will be offered during the performances.

First performance: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13 at Clowes Memorial Hall on the campus of Butler University, 4602 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis.

Second and third performances: 3 p.m. Dec. 16 and Dec. 17 at The Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts, 1 Carter Green, Carmel.

Tickets: indychoir.org/foc