REXBURG, Idaho –
The Brigham Young University-Idaho Collegiate
Singers and Baroque Ensemble will combine in this year’s sold-out
performance of Handel’s “Messiah” Saturday, Dec. 11, at 2 p.m. and 7:30
p.m. in the Ruth H. Barrus Concert Hall of the Eliza R. Snow Center for
the Performing Arts.
BYU-Idaho alumni Laura Turley, David Olsen and Ken Peterson will also be
featured as guest soloists, along with Tamara Mumford.
“This year is of special interest because we are presenting a musical
experience much like the composer intended,” said Kevin Brower, who will
direct the performance. “In later years, other composers and editors
made some changes to Handel’s work to accommodate larger orchestras and
the evolving artistic tastes of more modern audiences. It is our hope to
step back into history to experience what listeners in Handel’s day may
have enjoyed.”
Annual performances of Handel’s Messiah have become a tradition not only
in Rexburg, but throughout the world. According to Brower, this stems
back to annual performances while Handel was alive.
“The first performance of Handel’s Messiah took place in Dublin, 1742,”
he said. “Since that time, it has become the most often performed and
one of the most recognizable music compositions in existence. We feel it
a great blessing and opportunity to allow our students and community the
opportunity to share in a work of such magnificent and enduring power.”