Up-and-coming opera stars will sing solos at the annual Do-It-Yourself Messiah and Carol Sing-Along Dec. 17 in Waukegan, said Waukegan Symphony Orchestra conductor Stephen Blackwelder.
“The bass and tenor are right in the throes of developing major league opera-singing careers,” Blackwelder said. “These are extraordinary soloists.”
Bassist Bradley Smoak sang with the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2014 with opera legend Renee Fleming. Tenor Kyle van Schoonhoven has been named a 2017 San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow. Both men sing in the choir at North Shore Unitarian Church, where Blackwelder is also a music director.
Also singing solos during the Messiah will be mezzo-soprano Maia Surace, a chorister at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and soprano Sarah Hibbard, who has performed with the Bowen Park opera.
In addition, Blackwelder is adding a new piece performed by the orchestra of a suite of Christmas carols before the Messiah.
“There are not a lot of string orchestra versions of Christmas carols that are written for adult or professional musicians to play,” Blackwelder said. “Most holiday music is written for full symphony, with lots of percussion and lots of brass. We don’t’ have room for that in the church.”
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Blackwelder, however, who loves searching for new music for the orchestra to perform, discovered string orchestra arrangements of Christmas carols written by Marshall Fine, a former professional violist with the Boston Symphony as well as a composer and arranger.
“I’ve taken four of his Christmas carol arrangements and turned them into a suite for the orchestra,” Blackwelder said. They include “Ding Dong Merrily on High,” “Pat-a-pan,” “Carol of the Bells,” and a lesser-known piece, “Carol of the Birds,” which was written by a composer from the Basque region of France.
“This will be something fresh for the audience,” Blackwelder said.
Typically 200 to 300 people come to the concert annually to join in singing with the Waukegan Concert Chorus, he said. Scores are $10 each and will be available for purchase the evening of the event, which was named after Joseph A. Favero. He was a Waukegan Park District commissioner beginning in 1977 and was the sitting president at the time of his death in April 2006. Favero, a music teacher with the Waukegan Public Schools, sang with the Waukegan Concert Chorus and played trombone with the Waukegan Municipal Band. The park district named the annual Do-It-Yourself Messiah, which began in 2007, in his honor.
The Messiah was composed in 1741 by George Frederic Handel as an Easter oratorio for orchestra, chorus and soloists. The music has since been sung more often during the Christmas season.
“People like to do something for Christmas time that is inspiring, not just commercial,” Blackwelder said. “It’s nice to buy cool things for their family and for their friends. Yet, outside of going to church, even for people who don’t go all the time, doing something that inspires them about the real hopeful message of Christmas is deeply meaningful. It’s something they like to share with their family. Singing the ‘Messiah’ is a way to be in touch with great music and great ideas.”
After the Messiah, the Waukegan chorus will lead the audience in the traditional sing-a-long of popular carols.
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance writer.
Do-It-Yourself Messiah and Carol Sing-Along
When: 7 p.m. Dec. 17
Where: First United Methodist Church of Waukegan, 128 N. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave.
Tickets: $15; free for 18 years and younger
Information: 847-360-4700; brownpapertickets.com/event/2579626