December 5 - December 7, 2025
Presented By: North Country Chorus
December 5, 6 & 7
Presented by: North Country Chorus
Times and Locations:
Friday, December 5 at 7:30 pm
Wells River Congregational Church
Main Street, Wells River, Vermont
Saturday, December 6 at 3:00 pm
United Community Church (formerly North Church)
1325 Main Street, St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Sunday, December 7 at 3:00 pm
Peacham Congregational Church
Church Street, Peacham, Vermont
Admission by donation
The North Country Chorus presents Handel’s Mesiah in annual holiday concert. Director Alan Rowe leads over 80 voices in the community choir, accompanied by a chamber ensemble. Soloists are sopranos Lisa Baclawski, Suzan Derby and Kristen Morgan-Davie; altos Kim Beckley and Bridget Peters; tenors Michael Eareckson and Andrew Hudson-Sabens, and bass Lucas Weiss.
A special feature at the Sunday matinee in Peacham: Singers with their own Messiah scores are invited to sing along on the major choruses.
Composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, Messiah is one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music. It was first performed in Dublin in April the following year and received its London premiere a year later. The North Country Chorus has sung Messiah periodically in its 78-year history, the last performance being six years ago.
The libretto of this English-language oratorio was compiled from the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter by Charles Jennens. His text is an extended reflection on Jesus as the Messiah, or Christ. The opening Christmas section begins with Old Testament prophecies by Isaiah and others, and moves to the annunciation of Jesus’s birth to the shepherds, the only scene taken from the Gospels. In the second part Handel concentrates on the Passion of Christ and ends with the Hallelujah chorus. Part 3 covers New Testament teachings on the resurrection and Christ’s glorification in heaven.
Presented by: North Country Chorus
Times and Locations:
Friday, December 5 at 7:30 pm
Wells River Congregational Church
Main Street, Wells River, Vermont
Saturday, December 6 at 3:00 pm
United Community Church (formerly North Church)
1325 Main Street, St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Sunday, December 7 at 3:00 pm
Peacham Congregational Church
Church Street, Peacham, Vermont
Admission by donation
The North Country Chorus presents Handel’s Mesiah in annual holiday concert. Director Alan Rowe leads over 80 voices in the community choir, accompanied by a chamber ensemble. Soloists are sopranos Lisa Baclawski, Suzan Derby and Kristen Morgan-Davie; altos Kim Beckley and Bridget Peters; tenors Michael Eareckson and Andrew Hudson-Sabens, and bass Lucas Weiss.
A special feature at the Sunday matinee in Peacham: Singers with their own Messiah scores are invited to sing along on the major choruses.
Composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, Messiah is one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music. It was first performed in Dublin in April the following year and received its London premiere a year later. The North Country Chorus has sung Messiah periodically in its 78-year history, the last performance being six years ago.
The libretto of this English-language oratorio was compiled from the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter by Charles Jennens. His text is an extended reflection on Jesus as the Messiah, or Christ. The opening Christmas section begins with Old Testament prophecies by Isaiah and others, and moves to the annunciation of Jesus’s birth to the shepherds, the only scene taken from the Gospels. In the second part Handel concentrates on the Passion of Christ and ends with the Hallelujah chorus. Part 3 covers New Testament teachings on the resurrection and Christ’s glorification in heaven.