November at JSU
JSU A Cappella Choir, Calhoun Civic Chorale to Perform “Messiah” at
Historic St. Michael’s Church
The historic Church of St. Michael
and All Angels in Anniston will be
the setting for the Jacksonville State
University A Cappella Choir and the
Calhoun County Civic Chorale’s joint
performance of Part One of George
Friedrich Handel’s Messiah on November 17 at 3 p.m. Guest soloists
will be University of Montevallo
faculty member and tenor Roderick
George and JSU alumna and Mezzo
Soprano Judy Holt Shealy. The choirs
will be accompanied by an orchestra
of JSU students, faculty and professional string players from the Birmingham area.
The choirs are under the direction
of Dr. Patricia Corbin,
JSU director of Choral Activities, and are
accompanied by Ms
Vicki Brock, organist
at Parker Memorial in
Anniston. Other featured soloists on the
concert are Soprano
Debra Mantua (Rockville, Md.), Pat Kirkland,
(Weaver), David Lawshe (Jacksonville), and
Ellen Abney, (Haralson,
Ga.).
This is the fourth time that Dr. Corbin
has chosen to have her choirs perform Messiah since joining the JSU
music faculty in 1999. “Messiah is
the most popular oratorio written
by Handel and is beloved by singers and audience members alike,”
says Dr. Corbin. “We always get a
great turnout of singers when we do
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this work. It is so important for our
college singers, especially the soloists, to learn this work because they
will be called upon to sing it often
throughout their performing years,”
she continues.
The entire Messiah is in three parts
and details the birth of Christ, his
death and resurrection, respectively.
The choirs will only be performing
Part One, which includes all of the
familiar Christmas selections such as
“And the Glory of the Lord” “O Thou
,
That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion,”
and “For Unto Us a Child is Born.”
The Church of St. Michael and All
Angels has been a favorite performance venue for this work. “There is
something about the beautiful and
historic architecture of St. Michael
Jacksonville State University. The
singers in the choirs are college students, JSU faculty and members of
the community.
Tickets for the performance are $8
for General Admission, $5 Youth/
Children (16 ages and under), and $4
for JSU students with ID. Tickets will
go on sale November 4t and may be
purchased in person from the JSU
Choral Activities Office in November,
or at the door. This concert is expected to sell out.
For further information, please contact the JSU Office of Choral Activities (256) 782-5544.
Canned Food Drive
The JSU student chapter of the
American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) will also be sponsoring
a canned food drive at the concert
to benefit the St. Michael’s Food
Ministry. Audience members are
asked to bring food donations of
non-perishable items to the concert.
Hear Ye! Annual Madrigal Dinner
Returns November 22-23
and All Angels that creates a great
atmosphere for this performance,”
says Dr. Corbin.“We are lucky to have
the opportunity to perform in such a
glorious place.”The church is located
at 1000 West 18th Street in Anniston.
On Friday and Saturday, Nov. 22-23,
JSU Choral Activities will present
their Annual Renaissance Madrigal
Dinner in the Leone Cole Auditorium on the JSU campus. Join us for
A Cappella Choir and the Calhoun
County Civic Chorale are two of
five choirs sponsored by the David
L. Walters Department of Music at
November 2013
INSIGHT