Last spring the Monashee Chamber Choir and Orchestra performed Frederic Handel’s Dixit Dominus with such success, members thought it was time for them to do the composer’s mighty English oratorio, The Messiah.
Usually heard around Christmas, locals will get a chance to hear the masterpiece performed at St. John’s Lutheran Church Saturday, March 12.
The choir and orchestra will combine to perform The Messiah in the style in which it was first presented at Easter time in Dublin, circa 1742, said conductor Cees Kooyman, who calls Vernon home.
“The choir and orchestra will be the same size as in Dublin, and (I) am eager to do the work,” said Kooyman. “The soloists, as Handel insisted, will be singing with the choir and will all be local artists.”
The orchestra will feature the same strings players from the Dixit Dominus performance, with additional harpsichord, bassoon, trumpet, and tympani players, he added.
The choir and orchestra performs Handel’s Messiah at St. John’s Lutheran Church, off Silver Star Road, behind Stussi Sport, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 (students free) at the Bean to Cup, the Bean Scene, Wentworth Music and at the door.
