Missouri Military Academy Will Hold Virtual 79th Annual Evensong on Dec. 12

Celebrating the holidays through the voices of Missouri Military Academy (MMA) cadets, MMA's 79th annual Evensong will air on YouTube on Saturday, December 12 at 6:00 p.m. The event will be prerecorded in Memorial Chapel without an audience due to the Academy’s COVID-19 safety protocols.  

Evensong, described as a "Festival of Lessons and Carols," is an Academy tradition that includes live readings and musical performances by cadet musicians and the MMA Choir. See list of participants below.  

“Evensong has been a part of MMA’s history and tradition for nearly 80 years, and it seems fitting that a time of worship and celebration will end a very trying 2020,” said Chaplain Kevin Quinn. “As always, MMA cadets have shown tremendous resilience and determination. We plan to make this year’s recorded Evensong as good – or better – than a live performance.”

The MMA Evensong is a celebration of the Christmas story, similar to the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols held in the King's College Chapel in Cambridge. The festival dates back to the Christmas Eve of 1918, when it was first held in the chapel one month after World War I ended. The service was developed by Eric Milner-White, who was the young, newly appointed dean of King's College at the time. Milner-White had previously served as an army chaplain.  

The Evensong program began at MMA in 1941, less than a month after the Japanese attacked the U.S. at Pearl Harbor, drawing the country into World War II.  Since then, Evensong has traditionally served as a joyful start to the winter furlough. 

Evensong Participants  

Instrumental Ensemble  

• William Delaplane 
• Peter Didicher 
• William Dunn 
• Kruze Hagan 
• Matthew Hamilton 
• Michael Henderson 
• Michael Macharay-Pagan 
• Anthony Melick 
• Landon Meyer 
• Victor Patino-Matos 
• Griffin Roberts 
• Ian Robison 
• Kevith Sangster 
• Evan Schreyer 
• Angelo Uradenta 
• Bradford Wright 
• Chongbo Zhao 

Cadet Bagpipes Ensemble 

• Cadet Pipe Major Clayton Nelson 
•  Matthew Hamilton 
•  Christopher Chew 

 Cadet Choir  

• Dhalil Belko 
• Damien Brown 
• Kevin Gonzalez 
• Jancarlo Barajas 
• Ramel Morgan 
• Ash Park 
• Mason Ruckerman 
• Kamden Sipple 
• Guanhong Song 
• Ryan Stafford 

 Cadet Lessons Readers 

• Francisco Jacquez 
• Landy Nguyen 
• Phasakorn Cunningham 
• Kevin Gonzalez 
• Jared Douthit 
• Bradford Wright 
• Loyal Smith 
• Bryce Bowen 

Fine Arts Department 

• Mrs. Cheryl Morris, Chair 
• Mr. Rob McGrath, Director of Bands 
• Major Mike Shoemaker, Director of Cadet Chorus 
• Pipe Major Brian Donaldson, Director of Cadet Bagpipe Ensemble 
• Mr. Stephen Maziarz, Accompanist 
• Mr. Kevin M. Quinn, Chaplain 
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