Brattleboro, Vt. – Friends of Music at Guilford invites singers and music lovers in the Tri-State region to start their holiday season at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 6, with the 44th annual Community Messiah Sing, a benefit for the homeless. Centre Congregational Church, at 193 Main Street in Brattleboro, has been home for the Sing since 1982 and for a few prior seasons as well.
This year marks the return of conductor Terry Larsen for an eighth season at the helm after a few years’ hiatus. A music teacher in private and public schools for twenty-five years, Larsen was a member of the famed Chanticleer singers and director of the Napa Valley Symphony Chorus when he lived on the West Coast. Now a resident of Southampton, Mass., he has directed the Manchester (Conn.) Symphony Chorus and the Pioneer Valley Symphony Chorus, and is director of the Schola Nova choral ensemble.
At the organ will be David Neiweem, a keyboard specialist, baritone soloist, and choral conductor who serves on the music faculty and as university organist at UVM in Burlington. He will accompany the Christmas portion of Handel’s masterwork, plus a few other favorite sections from Parts II and III. Neiweem has performed in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and is music director of the Burlington Choral Society and the Pitten (Austria) International Music Festival.
Vocal soloists this year are a mix of Sing veterans and newcomers. Tenor Christopher Wesolowski first sang at this event in 1992, and in the interim for a few other Friends of Music programs; he has sung for many years in choral and small-ensemble settings. Alto Justina Golden was featured in three prior Sings, most recently last season; she teaches at her Florence, Mass., studio and is a frequent soloist in the Pioneer Valley as well as across the U.S. and abroad. Newcomers to the Sing include soprano Junko Watanabe, a faculty member at the Brattleboro Music Center and Amherst College, and an opera, oratorio, and recital soloist locally, around New England, and in her native Japan; and baritone Cailin Marcel Manson, music director at The Putney School and an operatic soloist, choral and orchestral conductor, master teacher, and festival artistic director regionally and around the world.
As many as 250 or more singers from the Tri-State region bring a Messiah vocal score, otherwise borrow or buy one at the door. Copies are available in advance online or at regional music shops. A number of other folks just come for the beautiful music and to enjoy the rich sound of such an enormous choir. Water is the only beverage allowed in the sanctuary; a supply of bottled water is also available for purchase at the door.
As has been the case since 2007, all door donations are divided between the Brattleboro Area Drop In Center and Morningside Shelter, to support these agencies’ work with the homeless at holiday time. From 2007 through 2013, nearly $12,000 has been collected in donations for the cause.
The Drop In Center van will be parked outside the church again this year from about noon to 3 p.m or so for gathering donations of cash from passersby as well as bags of nonperishable food; winter clothing, outerwear, and blankets; and new, unwrapped toys from downtown shoppers and Sing attendees.
This year’s Sing sponsors include Richmond Auto Repair, Centre Church, Brattleboro Reformer, Brown Computer Solutions, C&S Wholesale Grocers, Brattleboro Savings & Loan, and Newton Business, in addition to Friends of Music’s 49th season sponsor, Entergy Vermont Yankee.
The Friends of Music Holiday Boutique is stocked with several series of Art Cards by local artists whose images have appeared on concert posters and season programs, a selection of CDs, and a variety of tote bags. Sales of these items are an important source of support for Friends of Music programs, many of which are offered on a donation basis to make them accessible to music lovers of modest means.
For further information, contact the Friends of Music office at (802) 254-3600 or email office@fomag.org; visit online at www.fomag.org.
