UW-Green Bay Music, local artists and high schools to present Handel’s ‘Messiah’

UW-Green Bay Music, in conjunction with the Green Bay Choral Artists group and guest high school choirs, will present George Frederic Handel’s classic Messiah at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1 in the Cofrin Family (main) Hall of the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts.

Performance of this renowned work draws on the collaborative efforts of the UW-Green Bay Chorale, as well as an orchestra featuring members of the Green Bay Symphony, UW-Green Bay faculty members and other professional musicians.

The Green Bay Choral Artists ensemble also lends its voices to this classic oratorio, along with high school choirs from Gibraltar, Sevastopol, Sturgeon Bay and Southern Door.

UW-Green Bay Associate Prof. Randall Meder will conduct the concert, UW-Green Bay’s seventh of the 2012-13 season.

“Every choral musician — whether it’s a high school kid, or college student,” Meder said, “if they have experience in music and singing, they should experience (Messiah). It’s an important historical work of art.”

Messiah also is a classic work beloved by audiences, one that UW-Green Bay Music has presented in four of the last five years, switching to a biennial schedule after the last performance in 2010. This year’s concert will focus on the Christmas portion of Handel’s composition, one of three sections of the famous work. It will conclude with the beloved “Hallelujah” chorus, always a musician and audience favorite.

The UW-Green Bay performance will include more than 200 singers and instrumentalists, along with four featured soloists. They are UW-Green Bay Assistant Prof. Courtney Sherman, Soprano; UW-Green Bay Associate Prof. Sarah Meredith Livingston, Mezzo Soprano; Tessa Wegenke, Mezzo Soprano; Erik Gustafson, Tenor; and David Robertson, Bass. Wegenke, ’10, and Robertson, ’03, are UW-Green Bay alumni.

“It’s a chance for the students, especially the high school students, to hear not just alums from our program,” Meder said, “but also — these are people who are working (professionally) as musicians.”

Those groups will come together for the first time the night before the concert, creating a sometimes daunting but nonetheless enjoyable logistical puzzle as Meder works to situate the ensembles and individuals. A lot goes into the performance, Meder said, but it’s worth it for performers and audiences alike.

The Messiah concert will start out with another work by Handel, an anthem he wrote for the coronation of King George II in 1727, titled “Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened.” An intermission will separate the two halves of the program, with the triumphant “Hallelujah” chorus serving as the concert’s finale.

Tickets for Messiah are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Call (920) 465-2400 or visit www.uwgb.edu/tickets. Visit www.uwgb.edu/music for more information. UW-Green Bay is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music.

Festival Orchestra personnel are as follows: Violin I: Yuliya Smead, concertmaster; Brooke Williams, Ross Ipsen, Angelica D’Costa Lundberg; Violin II: Janet Bond Sutter, Jill Sousek, Audrey Nowak; Oboe: Nancy Reichmann, Janet Stevens; Bassoon: Susan Lawrence McCardell; Trumpet: Adam Gaines, Kayla Johnson; Viola: Teri Abler, Maija Anstine, Jane Bradshaw Finch; Cello: Nancy Kaphaem, Michael Dewhirst; Bass: Susan Sullivan; Timpani: Cheryl Grosso; Organ/Harpsichord: David Severtson.

UW-Green Bay Chorale personnel are as follows: Soprano: Amanda Rose Abegglen, Eva Campbell, Nikita Cantable, Lindsay Cummings, Angela Danowski, Nicole Duhaime, Michaela Hogan, Farin Ludtke, Amanda O’Donnell, Tori Schuurmans, Brooke Tupa; Alto: Cylie Colbeth, Maari Erdman, Chandler Flynn, Bethany Froelich, Leah LaMalfa, Carolyn Petersen, Lydia Schneider, Stephanie Smith, Rachel Tom, Erin Zimmermann; Tenor: David Gallagher, Lane Ludtke, Greg Muller, Mark Osterberg, Julio Reyes, Nicholas Rudd, Kevin StJohn; Bass: Ryan Braatz, Robert Buffington, Ryan Dummer, James Letellier, Alex Stensaas, Joerge Schmelzer, Ryan Timm, Preston Waala, Kevin Wellens.

Green Bay Choral Artists personnel are as follows: Soprano: Constance Albert, Jan Bouchonville, Debbie DeGroot, Margaret Meder, Lori VerBoort; Alto: Nicole Doebert, Karen Eckberg, Connie Campbell, Becky Heinz, Carol Lehman, Katherine Nelson; Tenor: Luke Aumann, Mike Hogan, Chuck Huebner, Michael Lund Ziegler, Charles Reimer; Bass: Terence Adler, Douglas Durkee, Charlie Hagen, John Phillipson, John Quigley, Bob Richter.

Gibraltar Senior High School Choir personnel are as follows: Lauren Gilmore, director; Soprano: Ashley Caldecott, Kara Caldecott, Hope Copiskey, Ellie Helm, Lauren Kita, Anya Kopischke, Melinda Kroening, Alyssa Laughlin, Shannon Martin, Megan Schaut, Anna Snell, Ashley Tanck, Ella Voeks; Alto: Kimberly Craig, Mariah Davis, Marcy Desotelle, Ava Erickson, Paige Franke, Silvia Freix, May Heidel, Kailey House, Kelly Leonard, Lillie McDonald, Hailey Moreno, Caitlin Reisen, Makayla Swain, Grace Toerpe, Olivia Toerpe; Tenor: Ian Bennett, Evan Board, Ben Bruns, Perrin Cole, Landon Edwards, Alex Janisse, Chris Loroña, Peter Meyer, Evan Reinhardt, Skyler Schopf; Bass: Ben Anderson, Chris Anderson, Oliver Hansen, Bryan Licona Curiel, Jakob Littler, Griffin Olson, Jared Slagle, Douglas Smrz, Collin Strege, Austin Tanck.

Sevastopol High School Choir personnel are as follows: Cheryl Pfister, director; Soprano: Maggie Behme Dominique Bowers Arianna Hayes; Alto: Megan Reeves, Randi Karls, Carli Tebo, Jena Jarman; Tenor: Griffin Ash, Dominic Di Carlo, Vlad Evensen; Bass: Dylan Thornton, Isaiah Spetz, Riley Luckett, Nathan Spohn.

Southern Door High School Choir personnel are as follows: Soprano: Abby Baranczyk, Morgan Davis, Brittany Hallet, Myria Kolstad, Kaitlyn LaViolette, Theresa Letter, Cassy Moore, Jamie Olsen, Danielle Tauscher, Lara Wagner, Austin Rohe; Alto: Kelly DeJardin, Chelsea Lau, Maria Meikle, Kaira Rouer, Hannah Schley, Mickey Thiry, Nicci Ullman, Jadzia Vogel, Hannah Wilz; Tenor: Austin Daoust, Tegan Jorgenson, Jon LeBrun, Dustin McKinnon, Royce Rasmuson, Matt Rollin, Sonny Soquet, Luke Spude, Daniel Taddy, Michael McKinnon; Bass: Michael Baker, Tyler Dantoin, Jordan Englebert, Brett Kinnard, Eddie Kraemer, Aaron Larsen, Jordan Lenius, Cal McCarty, William McClelland.

Sturgeon Bay High School Concert Choir personnel are as follows: Justin Ranek, director; Soprano: Alexandra Boettcher, Samara Bosman, Katherine Scheer, Jacklyn Simon, Hannah Thiede, Kathryn Worachek; Alto: Ashley Franklin, Paige Frystak, Sylvia Hauser, Alyssa Jones, Bianca Lazarevski, Yixuan Long, Silke Luhrs, Abbey Pomeroy, Miranda Roop, Mackenzie Schopf, Eva Webber, Grace Weber; Tenor: Zachary Daoust, Andrew Dickelman; Bass: Samuel Carter, Erik Elliot, Bryce Hartl, Thomas Kitchens, Brady Lenius, Taylor Paronto, Joseph Schriner-Schmitt, Eric Storlie.

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