PRESS RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE

From the Orchestra of Southern Utah

To Be Release= d: Between December 3^rd – December 9^th, 2007

Contact: = Laurel Kay Dodgion, (435) 865-1492

Photo Cutline:= The 67^th Annual Handel’s Messiah Concert will be performed on December 9^t=
h and 10^th in Ce= dar City.

Handel’s Messiah to Hail Christmas Season in Cedar City<= /o:p>

The 67^th Annual = Handel’s Messiah Concert will be perform= ed at 7:30 pm on Sunday, December 9th and Monday, December 10th at the Heritage Center (105 North 100 East) in C= edar City. The concert will be performed by t= he Orchestra of Southern Utah conducted by Xun Sun, in conjunction with the Handel’s Messiah Choir un= der the direction of Grace St. Pierre. <= /span>The Orchestra has been able to maintain its tradition of offering this holiday concert free to the public thanks to the generous sponsorships of State Ban= k of Southern Utah and the Leavitt Group.

George Frideric Handel comp= osed the Messiah in 1741, completing the masterpiece in an astonishing 24 days, drawing inspiration from a libretto = by Charles Jennings as well as Isaiah and Job in the Old Testament and Luke, Matthew, John, First Corinthians, and Revelation in the New Testament. The well-known= and ever popular “Hallelujah” chorus is actually taken from Revelation.

The now famous oratorio was= first performed for Easter in 1742. It was not performed in the winter until after Handel’s death in 1759. Since then, Messiah has become an integral part of the holiday season. It h= as been performed literally countless times throughout the world in December, though portions of the work are also heard at E= astertide and funerals.

“This years OSU Messiah presentation promises to b= e very uplifting and
exciting,” stated Grace, “There is a spark in the air at every rehearsal and we hope that you will be blessed and moved by this year's presentation.”

Each evening’s perfo= rmance will feature nine soloists, all from the local community. Four soloists come from SUU. Faculty tenor Lawrence Johnson will perform “Comfort ye my People” and “Every Valley Shall be Exalted”. Soprano Sara Guttenberg will sing = the aria “Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion.” Kim Padilla will perform the sopra= no recitatives “There Were Shepherds Abiding in the Field,” “= ;And Lo, the Angel of the Lord Came Upon Them,” “And the Angel Said Unto Them,” and “And Suddenly There W= as With the Angel.” Mezzo soprano Melissa Gordon will perform the mezzo recitative “Behold a Vi= rgin Shall Conceive” and the aria “O Thou That Tellest.”

Bass Dave Rose will sing “Thus Saith the Lord= 221; and “But Who May Abide the Day of His Coming?” Dave’s 12-year-old son= Kenny Rose and Taryn Christie, a student at Canyon View High School, will s= ing “Then Shall the Eyes of the Blind.” Kenny will sing in the soprano key= on Monday; Taryn will sing in the alto key on Sunday.

“For, Behold, Darkness Shall Cover the EarthR= 21; and “The People That Walked in Darkness” will be sung by bass D= ave Thomas. Gina Ginouves will pe= rform the alto aria “He Shall Feed His Flock.” Stephanie Wilden and Remi Fletcher= , who is originally from J= apan, will sing “Come Unto Him” from the s= oprano portion of “He shall Feed His Flock Like a Shepard.” Stephanie sings Sunday and Remi si= ngs Monday.

The Choir will sing seven c= horuses from the Christmas portion of Handel’s Messiah at each concert of the two concerts.&n= bsp; The choruses will be “And the Glory of the Lord,” “= ;And He Shall Purify,” “O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings,” “For Un= to Us a Child is Born,” “Glory to God,” “Hallelujah!”= and “Worthy is the Lamb.” The choir features nearly 100 voices. Both choir and orchestra musicians donate their time and talents to make this performance possible.

The December 9th and 10th c= oncerts are open to adults and children over the age of six. OSU requests that babies and child= ren under the age of six not attend as the performance will be recorded and broadcast worldwide.

Lobby music before the perf= ormance begins at 6:45 p.m. The Dolce String Quartet plays Sunday evening featuring violinists Jessie Stephenson, Shaylin Manley, violist Cami Littlefield, and cellist Whitney Brown. On Monday evening sopranos Jackie Jackson and Megan Harris will be accompanied by pianist Jana Dettamanti.