A Brandeis Holiday Tradition
Dec. 5, 2014
Dear Colleagues,
It is with great pleasure that I invite you to participate in a special Brandeis tradition. On Tuesday, December 9 at 4:00 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center atrium, all interested members of the Brandeis community and their families are invited to participate (active or supportive) in our annual community sing-along of highlights from Handel’s masterwork “Messiah.”
The hour-long concert will be performed by the Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra and the Brandeis University Chorus, under the direction of Professor Neal Hampton. Pam Wolfe and Jason McStoots (MUS) will sing solos. For your singing pleasure, scores will be provided. Please arrive a few minutes early to get your copy!
“Give unto others” is the story of the season and the story of Brandeis. Please consider giving to a child in the Waltham Prospect Hill community by bringing a new toy to the concert to be collected by the Waltham Group’s Prospect Hill Kids Club.
German-born and raised in Britain, George Friedrich Handel (1685 – 1759) was proclaimed by Beethoven to be "the greatest composer that ever lived." Originally an Easter offering, and now popular for the Christmas season, the first performance of “Messiah” took place in Dublin’s Music Hall in 1742; the first performance in the United States took place in Boston in 1818.
The scriptural text was compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and is a narrative of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The oratorio has three parts. The second section concludes with the exuberant and iconic "Hallelujah” chorus, traditionally conducted by a Brandeis student.
I hope you will join me on this joyful occasion.
Best wishes,
Lisa Lynch, Provost
Lisa M. Lynch, PhD
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Maurice B. Hexter Professor of Social and Economic Policy
Brandeis University
assistant: Kristen Stevens, kstevens@brandeis.edu
phone: 781-736-2101