Mississippi Chorus Performs “Messiah” to Spotlight Christmas Season

The Mississippi Chorus will perform George Handel’s “Messiah” to celebrate the Christmas season.

Mississippi College director of choral activities Mark Nabholz will serve as conductor of the 75-piece group joined by members of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. Handel’s magnificent English language oratorio was first performed at Dublin’s Musick Hall on April 13, 1742.

The December 17 concert at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Jackson will include several other notable Mississippi College connections. Angela Willoughby, who chairs the MC Music Department, will serve as the program’s harpsichordist. Performances that Saturday are at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Several MC students will be featured with major singing roles. Soloists include: Yasmin Bradshaw of Clinton, Ashlynn Grissom and Andy Beasley, both of Madison, and William Crutcher of Birmingham, Alabama.

Based in metro Jackson, the Mississippi Chorus has delivered wonderful choral performances in the region and beyond since 1989. Over the years, the classical singing group has joined forces with the Mississippi Opera, the Mississippi Symphony, the Mississippi Boy Choir and Mississippi Girl Choir.

A Clinton resident, Nabholz was recently appointed the artistic director of the dedicated group of talented volunteers.

The MC music professor is thrilled to lead the concert to showcase Handel’s most enduring and popular oratorio. Handel composed the masterpiece in a span of just 24 days during August and September in 1741.

A fixture during the Christmas holidays, “Messiah” remains “one of the most beloved and often-performed pieces in all of Western music,” Nabholz says.

Tickets cost $20. The price will be $5 for students at the door of the cathedral on East Capitol Street.

To reserve tickets, contact Mark Nabholz at manabholz@mc.edu