Sometimes, the holidays hit you like a loud brass fanfare. Say, for instance, the shopping rush on the morning after Thanksgiving.

But then there are those quieter holiday moments, the ones that warm you like a melody that nestles in your mind and becomes a musical mantra for a day.

This year’s Holiday Vespers concert at Kansas University, on Sunday at the Lied Center, opted for more of the latter approach, favoring the nuanced over the bold and the delicate over the brassy.

The Symphony Orchestra set that tone from the beginning, playing Strauss’ “Emperor Waltz” with a light touch that built to rich blends. It would be the first of many pieces the orchestra played superbly.

The Symphonic Choir, meanwhile, provided its own rich sound on Franz Biebl’s “Ave Maria,” standing in the aisles to fill the tall hall with swirling harmonies. The piece has become a standard at Holiday Vespers, and should stay that way.

The reflective pieces continued later with the Chamber Choir’s performance of “Three Songs of Winter,” by KU professor Forrest Pierce. “A New December,” by David Frank Long, featured the Symphonic Choir’s strong diction in a straightforward, yet profound, work.

Several individual performances deserve note. Professor Tami Lee Hughes and concertmaster Shan-Ken Chien provided a beautiful violin duet on Edward Elgar’s “The Snow.” Andrew Fuchs, the baritone soloist on “The Three Kings” during the afternoon performance, also sounded solid.

There were few moments that needed improvement, but it was obvious the Symphonic Choir felt less comfortable with the “African Sanctus” than many of the other pieces.

Members of the Kansas University Symphonic Choir perform during the 82nd Holiday Vespers, featuring choirs and the KU Symphony Orchestra. The KU department of music and dance presented two performances Sunday at the Lied Center.

On many songs, the singers’ faces lacked energy and didn’t seem to fit the joyful texts they were singing. It’s one thing to lean on written music for a lesser-known work, but that’s probably less of a need when singing “Joy to the World,” as the choir did in R. Douglas Helvering’s “A Festival of Christmas” medley.

But the 275 student musicians made up for that with the finale, John Rutter’s “Gloria,” which isn’t a traditional Christmas staple but should be. The Symphonic Choir and orchestra were well-rehearsed.

The first movement, “Gloria in excelsis,” had tons of energy, while the second movement, “Domine Deus,” alternated between harmonies that locked in perfectly and dissonant chords that shimmied through the auditorium.

The final movement, “Quoniam tu solus sanctus,” had moments early on that lacked the cohesiveness of the previous two movements. But those moments were saved by a strong ending, which mixed voices, strings, brass and percussion in a celebratory sea of sound.

KU says its Holiday Vespers, in its 82nd year, is the second-oldest university vespers in the country. But there’s nothing old about the show. Every year, there’s a new mix of tunes – traditional and new, fun and serious, written at KU and around the world – that highlight KU musicians and get the audience in the holiday mood.