New Iberia started off the Christmas season with a concert and a St. Peter’s Church filled near capacity Sunday afternoon.

Performances by the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra included both classical pieces like Tchaichovsky’s Waltz from “Swan Lake” and traditional carols like “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” performed by tenor Paul Baker. After Baker invited them to, the audience sang along — quietly — to some of the carols.

Susan Garcia came to hear the concert from Jeanerette. Prior to the performance, she reminisced about the performances of Les Sons du Teche, which she used to attend regularly.

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“They did such a beautiful job,” she said.

Les Sons du Teche held Christmas concerts for about two decades, and helped the Iberia Cultural Resources Association bring this one, the ICRA’s first, to New Iberia.

Sue Charpentier of Lydia attended with her daughter, Tammy. “This is wonderful,” said Charpentier. “This is the first time I’ve come to anything like this in years and years.”

Many were impressed with the acoustics in St. Peter’s, which Sue said “sounds like a concert on TV.”

It was also Charpentier’s first time hearing the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra.

It wasn’t a first time for retired judge Anne Simon, who said she goes to the symphony in Lafayette regularly and especially admires conductor Mariusz Smolij.

Simon also noted the acoustics in the church.

“It really presents well,” she said.

ICRA president Cathy Indest said attendance exceeded her expectations.

“I’m just thrilled,” she said.

Indest said the church has a capacity of 900, and it looked like attendance was near that number.

“I think New Iberia needs more of this kind of thing,” said Tammy Charpentier.