The Cathedral Close is a hive of activity in December. In addition to the usual roster of special liturgies are the Cathedral Choral Society’s Joy of Christmas concert, and special services for the Cathedral Schools for which Dirksen wrote several pageants and carol services in the 50s and 60s.
His long list of Christmas anthems and carols testify that it was his favorite time of year, but special note should be made of the widely-performed mini-cantata Welcome All Wonders and his less well-known but extraordinary setting of W. H. Auden’s Song of Mary at the Manger.
The NBC telecast of 1984 shows both the Cathedral Choir and Wayne in top form.