Greenville Choral Union and Orchestra to Perform Handel's Messiah and Bach's Magnificant
Published: April 13, 2021
GREENVILLE, IL. - The Greenville Choral Union and Orchestra will celebrate their 81st seasonal performance of George Frideric Handel's oratorio Messiah on Sunday, December 4 at 4:00 p.m. in the Whitlock Music Center on the campus of Greenville College (Greenville, IL).
Performers
The 75-voice Choral Union and the 30-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: soprano Carolyn Hart (Wheaton, IL); mezzo-soprano Kathy Lawton Brown (St. Charles, MO); alto Lynda Marshall (Greenville, IL); tenor Jeral Becker (St. Louis, MO); and bass David Berger (St. Louis, MO).
Fourteen professional instrumentalists from the St. Louis area will join the Greenville Chamber Orchestra, directed by Professor Joe Noble of Greenville College. Dr. Catherine Burge, Professor of Music at Greenville College, is the accompanist for the Choral Union. Former Greenville resident Carlo van Ulft, a professional carillonist (Centralia, IL), 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 composers George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) and Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). The program will feature 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 81st performance of the work in Greenville. This year's concert will conclude with J.S. Bach's exuberant Magnificat in D.
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 WGRN, 89.5 FM.
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 1,600 traditional undergraduate, graduate, and adult students. Founded in 1892 and affiliated with the Free Methodist Church, the college is located in Greenville, IL, 45 miles east of St. Louis.
www.greenville.edu
