MTSU’s School of Music students to spread holiday joy at annual ‘Messiah’ concert Nov. 17

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University’s School of Music students will spread melodic and lyrical joy as they help usher in the holiday season with George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” on Nov. 17.

The MTSU Schola Cantorum, comprising of MTSU’s School of Music’s top upper-division vocal majors and graduate students, will perform alongside a professional orchestra at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17, at Hinton Hall inside the Wright Music Building at 1439 Faulkinberry Drive. Free parking is available on campus on weekends.

The performance will be conducted by School of Music’s vocal performance professor Raphael Bundage, director of choral activities who has worked at the university for nearly 40 years.

Tickets are $25 and can only be purchased online at https://bit.ly/4fubLcc or the Tucker Theatre box office.

Doors open at 2 p.m. and entry will be prohibited after the performance begins. The concert, sponsored by MTSU President Sidney McPhee‘s office, is expected to last just over an hour.

In this file image, Middle Tennessee State University School of Music professor Raphael Bundage conducts the MTSU Schola Cantorum student ensemble, the Middle Tennessee Choral Society and their orchestra in concert at Hinton Music Hall in the university’s Wright Music Building. The Schola Cantorum will present Handel’s “Messiah” Sunday, Nov. 17, at 3 p.m. in Hinton Hall. (MTSU file photo by J. Intintoli)

“It’s a Christmas favorite,” Bundage said. “People feel like it’s the holiday season when they’ve heard the performance of Handel’s ‘Messiah.'”

Between 45 and 50 MTSU Schola Cantorum students will participate in the upcoming performance, which will include solo performances by MTSU students Kevin Salter, a music major from Mt. Juliet; Abigail Miller, a music major from Cookeville; Warren Quandt, a music major from Murfreesboro; and Jacob Capistrant, a music major from Smyrna.

“We are fortunate to have these wonderful students; they are marvelous singers. I love giving them the opportunity to perform this beloved work,” Bundage said.

Salter is a second-year graduate student studying choral conducting under Bundage.

“I have been able to sing portions of Messiah almost annually since I’ve been singing in choirs, so this music is more familiar than ever,” Salter said. “In class, we only rehearse the group numbers, all of the soloists are trusted to work up their music on their own time. I do have to commend the first-time soloists who have to learn all of this new repertoire on top of their own solo portions.”

Handel’s “Messiah” was first performed in Dublin on April 13, 1742. Handel, a German-British musician who introduced Londoners to Italian opera in the early 18th century, composed the English-language “Messiah” oratorio in 1741. His patron, Charles Jennens, used scripture from the King James Bible and the Anglican Communion’s Book of Common Prayer to create the text for the three-part libretto’s popular recitatives, arias and choruses.

For more information on concerts and events in the MTSU School of Music, call 615-898-2493 or visit the “Concert Calendar” link.

For details on joining the Middle Tennessee Choral Society, visit https://mtchoralsociety.org.

— DeAnn Hays (deann.hays@mtsu.edu)