The Chilliwack Symphony Orchestra & Chorus (CSO) invites audiences to experience the drama of Messiah, George Frideric Handel’s most beloved work.
CSO is a non-profit society incorporated in 1999, founded by the late Maestro John van Liempt and Paula DeWit to offer Fraser Valley music lovers their own first class symphony orchestra and chorus.
“Messiah transcends cultural, geographic, and religious boundaries with its message of charity, peace, goodwill, and sacrifice,” DeWit said. “It also contains some of the most uplifting, touching, and magnificent music ever composed.”
Beginning Dec. 12th, DeWit will direct four amazing, young soloists, the Chilliwack Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Chilliwack Children’s and Youth choir and Belle Voci in performances of Messiah in the Valley.
READ MORE: Vancouver Orpheus Male Voice Choir comes to St Andrew’s Anglican Church Dec. 6
Among the guest soloists is Aldergrove resident David Rosborough, who told the Langley Advance Times that he is a baritone that has been singing since he was very young.
“I started my formal voice training when I was eight years old, and actually one of my first public performances was a performance of Handel’s Messiah,” Rosborough explained.
“The first time I performed with the Chilliwack Symphony was for their Messiah in the Valley series last year. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Paula, the CSO, the Chilliwack Symphony Chorus, and the Chilliwack Children’s Choir last year, so I was delighted to be asked to perform again this year,” he continued.
Rosborough called Messiah one of the great “masterworks” of classical music, and is undoubtedly the most frequently performed works especially around Christmas.
“Handel tells the story of the Messiah – Jesus – through a collection of texts drawn from the Old Testament prophecies and some of the New Testament writings in the Gospels and Epistles,” Rosborough said. “The texts are set in a variety of ways – solo recitatives where the text is essentially recited with simple musical accompaniment, arias, or extended solos – which tend to be complex and vocally demanding, and choruses where the choir sings with the orchestra.”
Messiah in the Valley will be presented on:
Thursday, Dec. 12, 7:30 p.m., at St. James in Abbotsford, 2777 Townline Rd.
Friday, Dec. 13, 7:30 p.m., at First Ave in Chilliwack, 46510 First Ave.
Saturday, Dec. 14, 7:30 p.m., at St. Joseph in Langley, 20676 Fraser Hwy.
Sunday, Dec. 15, 7:30 p.m., at Sts. Joachim and Ann in Aldergrove, 2827 273 St.
Tickets start at $15.
Available by phone at 604-795-0521 or online at www.chilliwacksymphony.com.
Aldergrove performance admission is by donation.
“One of the nice things about the Messiah in the Valley performances is that they add in a children’s chorus, who sing with the “grown-ups” in several choruses and have a couple of moments on their own as well,” Rosborough added.
“I think the audience can also expect to hear really great performances from the other soloists, too. It should be a very memorable event.”
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Email: ryan.uytdewilligen@langleyadvancetimes.com
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