Blacksburg Master Chorale: "Messiah"

Dwight Bigler, conductor

The New River Valley’s own Blacksburg Master Chorale (BMC) is joined by a professional orchestra and soloists to present one of the most iconic works of the holiday season, Handel’s Messiah. You won’t want to miss the voices of more than 80 singers filling the Fife Theatre for the glorious and resounding Hallelujah Chorus.

A German Baroque composer, George Frideric Handel began writing oratorios — operas about sacred subjects that are presented in concert instead of acted on the stage — after his opera season was cancelled because of a lack of subscribers. He wrote 22 oratorios in all, composing Messiah in 24 days in 1741. The work gained popularity throughout the 1750s and, after Handel’s death, was performed all over the world with increasing adaptations and re-orchestrations based on the musical taste of the time.