FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11/13/06

Greenville Choral Union and Orchestra to Perform Handel’s Messiah and Other Seasonal Music in 76th Anniversary Concert on Sunday, December 3


GREENVILLE, ILL. – The Greenville Choral Union and Orchestra will celebrate their 76th performance of George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah along with other seasonal music on Sunday, December 3 at 4:00 p.m. in the Whitlock Music Center on the Greenville College campus (Greenville, IL).

Performers
The 110-voice Choral Union and the 32-piece Orchestra includes members of south central Illinois communities in addition to students, staff, and faculty members from Greenville College. Guest vocal soloists will include: sopranos Kristen Markell (Greenville, IL), Kristi McKinley (Flanagan, IL) and Kirsten Reierson (Marshfield, WI); mezzo-sopranos Christy Edwall (George, South Africa) and Pam Wilson (Greenville, IL); tenor Tim Wallace (Seattle, WA); and basses Dan Denner (St. Louis, MO) and Paul Reese (Newburg, PA).

Eight professional instrumentalists from the St. Louis area will join the Greenville Chamber Orchestra, directed by Professor Joe Noble of Greenville College. Dr. Tom Stampfli, Professor of Music and Head of the Music Department at Greenville College, is the accompanist for the Choral Union. Greenville resident Pam Goodenough, a music teacher in the Bond County Unit #2 School District, will serve as organist. Dr. Jeff Wilson, Director of Choral Activities at Greenville College and Music Director of the Greenville Choral Union, will conduct the concert.


Program Overview
The concert celebrates the music of the popular Baroque composer George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). The program will include selections Handel’s most famous sacred work entitled, MESSIAH: AN ORATORIO. Originally performed to benefit a charity in Dublin, Ireland in April, 1741, this year marks the 76th performance of the work in Greenville. Additional seasonal music from Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, Russia, England and America will also be presented by the Greenville College Chorale, Choir, Chamber Singers and the Choral Union.

Seating for the concert will begin at 3:30 p.m. An offering will be taken to help defray the costs of the concert.

For those who are not able to attend the performance, the concert will be broadcast live on FM 89.5, WGRN.

For more information about the Greenville Choral Union and Greenville Chamber Orchestra, please contact the Greenville College Department of Music at (618) 664-6560.

Greenville College is a four-year accredited Christian liberal arts school with more than 1,300 traditional undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree completion students. Founded in 1892 and affiliated with the Free Methodist Church, the college is located in Greenville, Ill., 45 miles east of St. Louis.

www.greenville.edu

CONTACT:
Jeffrey Wilson
Associate Professor of Music
Greenville College
(618) 664-6561
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