Arise, shine! For your light has come.  This Advent festival is taken from the liturgy used at the great English Cathedral at Salisbury in England. The service conveys a central theological and moral idea about Advent the recognition that our beautiful world is marred by human willfulness, greed and violence. The record of Scripture insists that we need look no further to see the darkness of the world than our own selves. None of us is free from the shadows of sin. The light that shines first in the darkness is the Christ light. It is a sign of the light of Jesus Christ eternally shining in our dark world a light that dispels darkness, and yet a light that shows up the shadows of our world and of our lives. The light of Christ is all-revealing and judges us all. It is also illumination and warmth, the guiding beacon which leads us from darkness into light. The light breaks the darkness as sign of both judgment and hope. The scripture readings come in pairs. An Old Testament reading speaks of God s promise; a New Testament reading proclaims how the promise is being fulfilled in Christ. And each pair is accented by a musical response that heightens our expectation and invites our trust in the coming of Christ as Judge and Redeemer.The St. James Cathedral Choir is a mixed voice, semi-professional choir numbering 32 musicians, which leads the worship of the St. James Cathedral congregation. The Choir has a distinguished history of service to the Cathedral, the Diocese and the community at large. Drawing from a wealth of sacred music ranging from the pure, polyphonic music of the 16th century through the most daring of sonic tapestries by modern-day composers, the Cathedral Choir offers musical presentations which are characterized by a well-shaped and beautiful tone, rhythmic precision and thoughtful interpretation. The Cathedral Choir has been under the leadership of many of this country s foremost church musicians, including Dr. Peter C. Lutkin, Dudley Buck, Dr. Clarence Dickinson and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Dr. Leo Sowerby. The Choir leads the Sunday Cathedral Eucharist year-round and sings Choral Evensong the first Sunday of the month, October through June. The ensemble also sings for ordination and confirmation services held at the Cathedral, for Holy Days observed by the Cathedral and Diocese, and on the Cathedral Concert Series. Committed to the ministry of St. James Cathedral, the Choir welcomes all who are interested in participation, regardless of religious affiliation or faith practice.Bruce J. Barber II was appointed Director of Cathedral Music in January 2004. He is the Cathedral s principal organist, conductor of the Cathedral Choir and Artistic Director for the Cathedral Concert Series. Prior to joining the staff of St. James, Mr. Barber served as Canon Precentor and Director of Cathedral Music at the Cathedral Church of St. John, the Diocese of the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, New Mexico for 10 years. At St. John Cathedral he developed a highly respected and internationally known music program consisting of a large choral program for children and adults, various multi-faceted concert series and an organ recital series. He has performed with the New Haven Symphony, Florida Symphony and New Mexico Symphony and has conducted a wide range of sacred music for choir and orchestra, ranging from Bach to Beethoven, Brahms to Duruflé, Bernstein and Stravinsky. He has recorded two CDs with the Musicians of St. John s Cathedral: To the Creator of Light: Choral Music from the Cathedral Church of St. John and All This Time: Music for Advent and Christmas, both of which have been critically acclaimed. Since moving to the Chicago area, Mr. Barber has performed regularly with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.