December 11, 2007

On December 3, the Davidson College Concert Series presented Raymond Sprague leading the Davidson College Concert Choir, members of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, and soloists Jacque Culpepper, Diane Thornton, James Albritten, and Dan Boye in the performance of Handel's Messiah.

Typically, the performances of the Concert Series take place in a smaller venue, Tyler-Tallman Hall in the Sloan Music Center. However, with the newly formed 120 member Davidson College Concert Choir, consisting of Davidson faculty, staff, and students, as well as community members, a bigger venue was a necessity for the size of the group, but also for the size of the audience. According to one audience member the performance was "the best he had heard in years."

With an audience of about 640 people, a record for the Concert Series, this debut performance for the Concert Choir will certainly be one to live up to. The Concert Choir, the Orchestra, and the soloists performed Part One of Handel's Messiah along with the "Hallelujah Chorus," and "Worthy is the Lamb."

One community member said, "this was the first time I have been able to attend a performance of the Messiah with an orchestra of true Handelian dimensions, and I found it as satisfactory as I always imagined it would be. So often the Messiah is performed rather ponderously, but this performance was true to period in the lively, and, when appropriate, even lilting quality of the music."

The performance also hailed great applause from the students, who made up about 200 members of the audience. One student praised the group saying that it was "nice to hear what the Messiah is supposed to sound like." In addition to students there were a large number of faculty and staff present who were, as Dean of Faculty, Clark Ross said, very proud of this "marvelous opportunity for the students and the community."

Not only was this a marvelous experience for the Davidson student body, faculty, and staff, but also for the community. A parent of a high school student in the choir said that she is so thankful for the opportunity for her daugher to perform with the Davidson College Concert Choir. The performance of Handel's Messiah will be one that her family "will never forget." The student looks forward to applying to Davidson in the Spring in hopes to attend in the Fall and continue her vocal training at Davidson.

After such an incredible debut performance, the Davidson College Concert Choir looks forward to their next performance with the Davidson College Symphony Orchestra on February 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the Duke Family Performance Hall. The performance will include two works by Brahms as well as the winners of the 2007 Concerto Competition. Admission is free. For more information call 704-894-2848.

To finish out the 2007-2008 season, the Concert Choir will perform Mendelssohn's Elijah with members of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra on April 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the Duke Family Performance Hall. Visit http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/x9191.xml%20 for ticket information or call 704-894-2848.

Posted By: Claire Potter