MIDDLETOWN, N.Y.—New Middletown held its third candlelight concert at the United Presbyterian Church in downtown Middletown on Dec. 20, bringing over 100 visitors to the historic church for an evening of Christmas music.
New Middletown is a specialty department store in the old Tompkins department store building downtown that sells jewelry, clothes, and other international products, and it’s hosting a series of candlelight concerts in collaboration with local venues.
The United Presbyterian Church on Saturday was filled with classic Christmas pieces such as “O Tannenbaum,” “Jingle Bells,” and “Joy to the World,” performed by the New Middletown String Quartet. There were also performances by an oboe and cello duo, a pipa solo, and two pieces performed by NTD’s 10th International Vocal Competition silver award winner.
Pastor Lynn Costa told The Epoch Times that the performance was a way of giving something to the community for the holidays.
Costa said the concert “is a way to bring us together in a season of joy, peace, and kindness. That’s what we’re trying to spread.”
The church was built in 1866, and has historically been a Presbyterian congregation. Costa started her time as a pastor five months ago, after retiring from a 40-year career in media and pastoring on the side.
Carmel and George Nye, Irish nationals living in Pine Bush who came to see the performance, described the experience as amazing, and the atmosphere as magical.
The church’s secretary, Wendy Michaels, also enjoyed the concert. “It was fabulous. It was a great experience here with the candles, especially at Christmastime.”
Michaels felt the event did a great job bringing the community together, and said that seeing the pews filled brought back old memories.
Daniel Babay, the show’s host, said he enjoyed presenting in the big parish hall. “It’s a beautiful church. I love the acoustics as a guy who concerns himself with the way I sound. The acoustics here are phenomenal. I did cheat with the microphone.”
Babay said he was told of the performance by a friend who is a New Middletown store manager. Babay has experience as a master of ceremonies, and was sought out by New Middletown because the concert was going to be bigger than any of their previous performances.
Kevin Zhang is a sophomore student in graphic design at Northern University in Middletown, and the silver award winner at NTD’s International Vocal Competition. During the performance he sang two pieces accompanied by piano.
Zhang said he thought the church was beautiful. “This is my first time performing in this kind of venue,“ he said. ”I felt pretty excited.”
“This is my first time going to a Western church, actually,” he continued. “So I was amazed by how the structure, the environment, is so different, everything is so delicate, and it looks like it has a lot of history. ... And I think of those people who have faith, they’re different.”
The bass singer said he likes New Middletown and has watched previous candlelight performances. When the manager contacted him to ask if he would perform, he gladly accepted.
The candlelight concert in collaboration with New Middletown is one of several weekend concerts the United Presbyterian Church is holding this holiday season.
