A Christmas Treat: Sons of Serendip Bring All The Holiday Magic

Campus Life > A Christmas Treat: Sons of Serendip Bring All The Holiday Magic
A Christmas Treat: Sons of Serendip Bring All The Holiday Magic

The Sons of Serendip;  Mason Morton on left siting,  Kendall Ramseur on left standing, Cordaro Rodriguez on right siting, and Micah Christian on right standing. 

Julie Queiruga

Saturday night, Dec. 9, Sons of Serendip continued their "Christmas Beyond the Lights" tour, despite the weather conditions.  

The group had performed at Kean Stage and made sure to give it their all for the audience members that came out to support. Before the show started,  manager of Kean Stage,  Steve Cochran, welcomed guests to the event as he excited the guests for the show. 

After the short introduction was given by Steve Cochran, one by one, members of the Sons of Serendip came onto the stage and sat in their spots previously set up for them with their instruments. The band opened the show with "Let it Snow."  Micah Christian, as the lead vocalist of the group,  Kendall Ramseur on the cello,  Mason Morton played the harp, and Cordaro Rodriguez played the piano. 


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Sons of Serendip by Shef Reynolds 


Throughout the performance of "Let it Snow," Micah Christian walked up to the Christmas tree that was placed at the far right corner of the stage. He hanged up two ornaments that were displayed in a basket on a table next to the tree. He then plugged in the lights as the tree lit up. After the song was done, Micah expressed his motive for placing an ornament on the tree. He stated that he placed the ornament for the mentors that have passed away. He encouraged the audience members to do the same for someone in their life who had passed away. 

Members of the audience did participate, and throughout the concert, the tree was getting filled with ornaments. At one point, more ornaments needed to be filled in the basket next to the tree. 

The show went on, with more songs such as "This Christmas," "In other words," and "Signed Sealed Deliver." During the performance of "Signed Sealed Deliver,"  Christian got the audience engaged as he asked them to sing along. Throughout song performances, the group took short pauses as they shared personal stories and their group's journey. Stories shared were both inspiring and moving. Before the group took a brief intermission, Kean Gospel Choir came out and joined the group for a song. 

After, the group surprised audience member Kayla Richardson as they called her up to the stage to join them in singing "Amazing Grace." There was not a single dry eye in the audience during the performance. Audience members were touched and moved. 

Christian shared the story of Richardson and how they met her at the first show they performed at Kean. They met with Richardson after the show and sang with her. They knew it was only right to do it again, just this time in front of an audience. The members of the group also shared that their favorite part of the show was having Richardson on stage and being able to sing with her. 

After intermission, the group came back on stage as they continued their show. Before they performed any more songs, Mason Morton expressed his thoughts and feelings about his group member Christian as he wished him a happy birthday. 

Ramseur left the stage, but as he came back, he held a small plate with cake and candles for  Christian. The entire audience started singing "Happy Birthday" for Christian as he blew out the candles. It was an unexpected but thoughtful moment in the show. The group sang two more songs and closed the show with Kean Gospel Choir as they sang, "Hallelujah." 


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Kean Choir on stage with Sons of Serendip 


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Members of the Kean Choir with Sons of Serendip 

The group encouraged the audience to come out after to meet them and buy some merchandise such as shirts and albums to be signed. The group said their goodbyes on stage as they bowed. Every single guest watching stood up as they cheered and applauded the group. The show was enjoyed for sure. 

"I had heard about this event through a friend of mine, and I knew I had to check it out, which I am so glad I did. The Sons of Serendip had put on such a great show and really made you feel part of it. My favorite part had to be the mini birthday celebration on stage," said Sue Ellen Kushner, junior physical therapy major at Kean University. 

"The entire performance was interactive which was probably my favorite part of the show, I am really glad I saw this show flyer on the Kean Stage Instagram," said Yiriana Guerra, junior english education major at Kean University. 

Anyone that missed the performance of Sons of Serendip, can find out more information about the band and tour dates by visiting their site, http://www.sonsofserendip.com/ 


about the author
Julie Queiruga - web

Julie Queiruga, Editor
queirugj@kean.edu

Julie Queiruga is a junior majoring in communication, media and film. Julie is an Editor for The Cougars Byte. Julie has both a strong passion for writing and film making. She enjoys spending time with her family and her two dogs. Julie hopes to have a career in the film industry as both a director and an actress.