Share holiday joy at MTSU’s 31st anniversary ‘Messiah’ Nov. 30

The MTSU Concert Chorale, MTSU Schola Cantorum and the Middle Tennessee Choral Society will celebrate the upcoming holiday season with their 31st annual performance of Handel’s “Messiah,” set Monday, Nov. 30.

Messiah 2015 poster web The concert, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at Murfreesboro’s First United Methodist Church at 265 W. Thompson Lane, will feature guest soloists as well as student soloists.

Tickets are $10 per person and available at the door. MTSU faculty, staff and students will be admitted free with valid IDs.

The MTSU “Messiah” production once again will feature a professional orchestra and MTSU student, faculty and guest soloists performing the Christmas portion of the work, which includes some of its most popular recitatives, arias and choruses.

The choruses to be performed include “And the glory of the Lord,” “And He shall purify,” “For unto us a child is born,” “Glory to God” and the familiar “Hallelujah” chorus.

This year’s soloists include soprano Sharon Edwards, an MTSU alumna, and MTSU vocal students David Brady of Lebanon, Tennessee; Becca Buckley of Knoxville; Ciera Cope of Murfreesboro; Garrett Doo of Atoka, Tennessee; Collin Peterson of Murfreesboro; Hannah Sims of Friendship, Tennessee; and Jernie Talles-Millan of Vero Beach, Florida.

You can hear a preview of the groups’ work below, where the Schola Cantorum performs the “Ave Maria (Angelus Domini)” arranged by Franz Biebl.

For more information on this and other concerts in the MTSU School of Music, call 615-898-2493 or visit the School of Music’s Concert Calendar online.

For details on joining the Middle Tennessee Choral Society, contact Dr. Raphael Bundage, a professor of vocal performance in MTSU’s School of Music and Choral Society music director/conductor, at raphael.bundage@mtsu.edu or 615-898-2849.

— Gina E. Fann (gina.fann@mtsu.edu)

Members of the MTSU Schola Cantorum and Middle Tennessee Choral Society, shown here and below during their fall performance of Mozart’s “Requiem,” will present Handel’s “Messiah” in their 31st annual community concert, set Monday, Nov. 30, at Murfreesboro’s First United Methodist Church. (MTSU photos by Andy Heidt)

Members of the MTSU Schola Cantorum and Middle Tennessee Choral Society, shown here during their fall performance of Mozart's "Requiem," will present Handel's "Messiah" in their 31st annual community concert, set Monday, Nov. 30, at Murfreesboro's First United Methodist Church. (MTSU file photo by Andy Heidt)