In the Lied Center’s vast performance hall, conductors raised their hands and choir members lept up time after time, performing a range of holiday standards for the packed crowd.

At the 81st Annual Holiday Vespers, a choir, orchestra and individual performers belted out Christmas classics – “O Come, All Ye Faithful” came up early – along with Hanukkah tunes, Nigerian holiday anthems and “Frosty the Snowman”-style winter fare.

“I really look for a great spectrum of songs,” organizer John Paul Johnson said. “It’s not fair to the general public to just celebrate Christmas.”

The concert was put on by the Kansas University Department of Music and Dance, with the KU Symphonic Choir and Symphony Orchestra performing the multicultural sets.

“We’re in Kansas,” Johnson said, waiting to get photographed after the performance. “There’s a certain amount of tradition people expect.”

Earlier Sunday, the Lecompton Christmas Vespers Concert delivered that tradition, with Christmas classics in abundance.

The Rhapsody Ringers rang all kinds of bells from little tinkly ones to big, round boomers shaped like bowls, all helping to usher in Lecompton’s Christmas season.

The first song: “We Three Kings,” a holiday classic. And the bell choir from Topeka didn’t stop there. It treated the crowd to handfuls of ringing tunes.

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“Next is ‘Silver Bells,'” conductor Sharon Fick said. “Our bells aren’t silver, but…”

The event, held at the Territorial Capital Museum, brought together singers, musicians and a packed crowd to officially ring in the holidays, complete with a bulging, well-decorated Christmas tree and loud holiday sing-along songs.

Performers included the Lecompton United Methodist Choir, which performed six songs; a vocal solo of “O Holy Night” from resident Sara Howard; and an up-beat duet from brothers Jaron and Jeremy Robbs that had the crowd clapping and rocking along.

In white gloves, the bell choir wielded sticks with little puffy balls on the ends to play four tunes that drew heavy applause.

“They’re rung like a keyboard is played on the piano,” Fick said.

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Fick explained that the group was a mix of new and seasoned ringers, but that a passion for music fused the choir together.

“Once you pick them up, they’re hard to put down,” Fick said.

Christmas was certainly in the air, but at the event, the holiday season meant something else for both the organizers and the crowd. For the people of Lecompton, Christmas became synonymous with community.

After the music wound down, organizer Paul Bahnmaier brought books to the stage, giving the crowd a refresher course on Lecompton history.

“Look at this map,” he told the crowd, holding a Civil War history book up high. “Lecompton is three times bigger than our neighbor to our east.”

The speech was filled with jabs at Lawrence, but the point was to teach the community about a history they should be proud of, Bahnmaier said.

“I guess this is a way of encouraging our community,” he said. “It makes us all aware that our history is important.”

Many in attendance had their own histories with the Vespers celebration that drew them closer to their friends and neighbors. Kylee Neal has been coming to the 20-year-old event since she was a child, leaving with a sense of togetherness that might have been missing the rest of the year.

“It’s really the community. It’s something we do,” Neal said.

It’s something Gina Clement has done for years as well. The Lecompton United Methodist Choir member spent the afternoon belting out holiday classics, then reflected on the day as the crowd filed out.

“This is how we bring the community together, to enjoy each other’s talents,” she said. “This brings the real meaning of Christmas, aside from all the bustle.”