CHORAL DIRECTOR … Benjamin Lupo. PHOTO PROVIDED / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
FEATURED ARTIST … Erin Perkins.
PRESS RELEASE – The Toledo Symphony returns to the Bryan area for its annual Christmas concert on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m., at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Bryan.
Tickets for this popular event will be sold from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the Bryan Chamber of Commerce office located at 138 S. Lynn Street in Bryan. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students (18 years and younger). All seats are reserved, and attendees are encouraged to get their tickets early as the concert is often a sell-out.
In addition to holiday favorites played by the Toledo Symphony, the concert also includes musicians with local ties to Bryan as featured artists. Bryan City Schools choral director Benjamin Lupo is beginning his 18th year of teaching vocal music and his 13th with Bryan City Schools. He currently directs the A Cappella Choir, Concert Choir, Light Shine Singers, as well as seventh and eighth grade Treble and Tenor/Bass Choirs, and Sixth Grade Chorus. In 2024, Benjamin was honored with the Benedict Family Outstanding Educator Award.
Prior to his appointment to Bryan, he served as Director of Vocal Music for Montpelier Exempted Village Schools in Montpelier, Ohio. Ensembles under his direction have consistently earned first and second division ratings at Ohio Music Education Association District and State Large Group Adjudicated Events.
Benjamin holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Heidelberg University, where he studied voice under Dr. Deborah Norin-Kuehn and choral conducting under Dr. Grant W. Cook III. He performed as a member of the Heidelberg University Concert Choir and Chamber Singers. In 2017, he completed a Master of Music degree in Vocal Music Education from Kent State University. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree through Boston University, focusing on the longevity, recruitment, and retention of rural music educators.
Benjamin holds active memberships in the National Association for Music Education, Ohio Music Education Association (where he currently serves as State Mentorship Co-Chair), American Choral Directors Association, and Ohio Choral Directors Association.
After graduating from Bryan High School, Bryan native Erin Perkins pursued her academic and artistic interests at Yale, where she distinguished herself as a soloist and actor, performing in ensembles of all sizes and in numerous musicals.
After relocating to Chicago, Erin became a member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and sang with the a cappella groups The Oriana Singers and Lakeshore Jive. While attending Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, she joined the music staff at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, continuing to pursue her musical interests as well as her legal career.
In 2005, Erin’s career led her abroad. She practiced law with a focus on risk and compliance at Magic Circle firms in London, Singapore, and Hong Kong. While in Hong Kong, she joined Citibank, also continuing her music interests including co-founding the a cappella group Eight Five Tunes and performing as a soloist at local venues. Returning to Chicago in 2024, she currently serves as a Compliance Director at Citi.
Recently, Erin has been featured as a soloist with the Northwestern University Summer Chorus for two consecutive seasons, appeared as a soloist in the January 2026 Chicago Bar Association Chamber Concert, and was invited to perform with the Apollo Chorus of Chicago at the Peninsula Music Festival in Door County, Wisconsin. Shortly after joining the Chicago Bar Association Chorus, Erin was invited to take on a leadership role as one of the co-chairs for the group.
2026 marks the 18th year St. Patrick Catholic Church has hosted “Christmas with the Toledo Symphony” in Bryan.
