Purduette Addison Schreiber sang the lead vocals for the commercial.

What started as an anonymous post online turned into a nationally televised holiday commercial featuring PMO students and directors.

While walking out of the Elliott Hall of Music last fall, a Purdue freshman heard beautiful music coming from an outdoor piano located near the Bell Tower. Later that night, she wrote an anonymous post on an online Purdue forum, thanking the pianist for lifting her spirits after a particularly challenging exam.

After reading her post, the Purdue Marketing and Communications team requested that PMO create a unique re-imagining of “Hail Purdue” for their annual holiday commercial. Within 72 hours of receiving the request, PMO Assistant Director Jake Stensberg had arranged an inspired rendition of the University’s beloved fight song.

“Inspiration for the ‘Boilermaker Carol’ arrangement really came from drawing on some of my favorite memories: sitting at the piano, surrounded by close friends, singing songs together,” said Stensberg, who assists with directing the Purduettes, University Choir and several small specialty ensembles. “Once I was able to tap into that well of emotion, the re-imagining of a tune we all know and love came quite easily.”

This one-of-a-kind arrangement features lead vocals by Purduette Addison Schreiber, harmonies provided by 11 other PMO students and piano accompaniment by PMO Assistant Director, Dr. Shuk Ki Wong. Stensberg’s new “Norah Jones-esque” version of the fight song perfectly showcases Schreiber’s sultry sound.

“I thought it was really cool that the song wasn’t necessarily Christmas- specific because there are a lot of people that don’t celebrate Christmas, but it still had that same warm and fuzzy vibe,” said Schreiber, a junior from Bluffton, Ind., studying political science.

The production process, which included an audio recording session and three video shoots, took place over four evenings in November amid PMO’s preparation for the virtual Christmas Show. The students filmed the commercial near familiar campus landmarks including the Bell Tower, the Engineering Fountain and Mackey Arena, and they even had the opportunity to record audio tracks in the professional recording studio located in Yue-Kong Pao Hall.

“Working with Addison on the solo and watching our students at work in the recording studio reminded me of my days working with professional singers in Indianapolis and New York City,” said Stensberg. “They were polished and joyful, and I couldn’t be more proud of the work they did to put this warm, inviting image of Purdue University out there for everyone to enjoy.

The PMO students and staff were honored to be featured in the University’s annual holiday commercial, which has reached nearly 133,000 views on YouTube to date.