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2004 Rehearsal - see any familiar faces?
Handel's Messiah
Sunday, November 29, 7:30 p.m.
University Theater, University of Montana
Free Admission Concert
With free will donations accepted at the door to benefit
Habitat for Humanity of Missoula
Handel's Messiah is a holiday tradition around the world. This is our 14th annual production of this great music. All this is possible because of the nicest musicians around - the conductor, soloists, and orchestra donate their talents AND the chorus raises money in pledges to sing.
Joyous musical Hallelujahs will echo through the Missoula community on Sunday, November 29 at 7:30 p.m. in the University Theater on the campus of the University of Montana as the Habitat for Humanity Messiah concert begins the holiday season. Bringing together professional soloists, a 30 piece orchestra, and a choir of about 100, the concert involves the community as performers, audience, and benefactors. The concert is about an hour in length.
The concert is free, absolutely no charge, but freewill donations will be accepted at the door. Why? Because this concert is more than a musical performance of Handel’s Messiah, as wonderful as that is. The hallelujahs are also for the work of Habitat for Humanity Missoula to provide affordable home ownership for eligible families.
Singers needed. The professional musicians volunteer their talents, and the community choir collects pledges in order to participate in the event – a minimum of $75 for adults and $40 for students. Singers collecting most pledges receive prize packages donated by area businesses. More information for singers is posted lower on this page.
Soloists and Conductor are ready to go. Our Concert Coordinator Director, Nancy Cooper has recruited another wonderful lineup.
Luis Millan, Conductor
Anne Basinski, soprano
Kimberly Gratland James, mezzo-soprano
Steven Aadland, tenor
Stephen Kalm, baritone
The orchestra members will come from the Missoula Symphony Orchestra, the String Orchestra of the Rockies, the University of Montana Symphony, and area high school orchestras.
More for the Singers of the Chorus
The Rehearsals and the Tapes:There will be two voluntary "no frills" rehearsals for singers - November 15th and 22nd, 1:30 - 3:30 pm in the Parish Hall of Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, 130 S. 6th Street E., Missoula. The only full rehearsal will be on the day of the performance - November 29th from 2:30 - 3:30 pm at the University Theatre on the UM campus.
A limited number of rehearsal tapes will be available for check-out at the rehearsals. These tapes are professionally made. There are separate tapes for each choral part.
The Score: This is a production of the Christmas portion of Handel's Messiah. Many schools and churches have scores and we encourage you to find your own copy. The differences between scores are small. But, if you have a choice, look for the Watkins-Shaw (Novello) score. Scores are on sale at Morgenroth Music, 1105 W. Sussex Avenue. If you still need help getting a score, call the Habitat office at 549-8210.
The Pledge Sheets and Incentives: We are asking you to help us meet our goal of $150 per singer. Many pledge events - walkathons, bikeathons, etc. set the required minimum much higher than $75 ($40 for students). We want the "Hallelujah Chorus" to be easy to join. We want hundreds of singers of all ages to sing. Still, we hope you won't stop at the minimum but will push on for the cause of decent affordable housing in Missoula. Your extra efforts will convince the soloists, orchestra, volunteers and our sponsors that this event will make a real difference in Missoula and is worth supporting in the years to come. Click here for a pledge sheet
AIM HIGH! To help us show our gratitude, many local businesses have donated great incentive prizes. Prize packages will be awarded to the top five student fundraisers and the top ten general fundraisers. The packages will range from a retail value of $25 to over $400 for the Grand Prize Package.
Turn in your pledges early, if possible, to the Habitat office, P.O. Box 7181, Missoula 59807; at the rehearsals on the 15th or 22nd; or at the rehearsal on the day of the performance. If you want to compete for prizes, your pledges must be collected and turned in by Friday, December 4th. Prize winners will be determined and notified after that date. But, regardless of when you turn in your pledges, if you are singing, we would like to hear from you by Sunday, November 22nd, at the rehearsal so we can put you in the program, plan our stage setup, refreshments, etc. It is very important that you CALL THE HABITAT OFFICE AT 549-8210.
Biographies of the Conductor and Soloists
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Habitat for Humanity of Missoula
Habitat for Humanity of Missoula is a nonprofit organization that provides "a hand up" to low-income residents seeking decent, affordable housing. As one of more than 1,700 affiliates of Habitat for Humanity International in all 50 states and nearly 100 countries, the Missoula affiliate has been builing homes with hardworking local families since its founding in 1991. Habitat's approach is to form a partnership with the families and get family members involved in the construction of their own homes through a donation of at least 500 "sweat equity" hours. Community volunteers help keep down costs by donating building materials and labor. The house payments that Habitat families make are recycled to build more houses locally. The strategy works: HfH of Missoula is completing construction of its 37th, 38th, and 39th homes. While Habitat is a Christian organization that, in Missoula, enjoys a covenant relationship with nearly 30 churches of various denominations, religious beliefs are never used as a criteria for acceptance either as a partner family or a volunteer. The pledges that you, as singers, contribute enable Habitat to continue building homes in partnership with God's people. To learn more, call the Habitat office at 549-8210.
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