Messiah signals the start of the season
By Casey Gillis on Nov. 15, 2007
For many people, the Lynchburg College Choral Union and Festival Orchestra’s annual performance of Handel’s “Messiah” signals the start of the Christmas season, says Jong Kim, a professor of music and director of choral activities.
Now in its sixth year, the performance is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the college’s Snidow Chapel.
“I think that this is one of the most familiar choral works of all time,” Kim says.
Handel originally composed and performed “Messiah” in 1741 for Easter, but it’s now commonly performed on and around Christmas.
The piece, which revolves around Jesus and his life, has three sections, Kim says.
The first section is about the prophecy of His coming and birth, while the second is about His life and crucifixion. The third molds it all together, and “in the end, it is about our thanksgiving,” Kim says.
No matter how many times he conducts “Messiah,” Kim says there’s always something new to be found within the material.
“We think we know it, but we really don’t,” he says. “There are always new things to be discovered.”
“It’s a great piece of music,” Kim adds. “There are lots of great interactions between soloists.”
The four soloists they’ve gathered for this year’s performance have varied backgrounds in music.
Soprano Penny Shumate, of New York, has performed in the Hill City before with Opera on the James. Throughout her career, she’s performed with companies and orchestras around the U.S. and abroad, including the Baltimore Opera, Little Orchestra Society of New York City and the Luzerne Music Festival in Switzerland. She was also soprano soloist for “Messiah” and “Carmina Burana” at Carnegie Hall, and performed the title role in “Naughty Marietta” at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center.
Like Shumate, tenor Christopher Swanson is also making a return to Lynchburg. Last spring, he was the tenor soloist in the Choral Union’s performance of Orff’s “Carmina Burana.” A professor of music at Longwood University, Swanson has performed leading roles in numerous operas and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. He was featured on the 2000 Newport Classics release of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Princess Ida,” as well as a 2003 recording of John Eccles’ opera, “Semele,” the first complete recording of the opera.
Mezzo-soprano Jessica Burkey is Lynchburg College’s newest faculty member. She joined the staff as an assistant professor of music this fall after serving as instructor of voice at Indiana Wesleyan University. A scholar as well as a performer, Burkey presented her research on Bellini and “Bel Canto” and on vocal music related to war at the Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, the New Educators Symposium at Indiana University, and the CMS International Conference in Bangkok.
Bass Wayne Kompelin last performed “Messiah” with Lynchburg College in 2005. A professor of music at Liberty University, Kompelin founded the university’s opera program in 1989, and has since directed and produced 18 operas and stage works. He also directs Liberty’s Chamber Singers, recognized as one of Virginia’s premier choral ensembles. He has been featured in a number of Opera Roanoke productions, most recently playing the role of Friar Laurence in Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet.”
Tickets to the concert are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students and $3 for children. They can be purchased at the Lynchburg College bookstore, Givens Books and Aylor’s Farm and Garden. For more information, call (434) 544-8344.
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