James Ogle, conductor, will return to New Bern for the thirty-eighth performance of George Friderick Handel’s Messiah, set for Monday, December 5 at Centenary United Methodist Church, on the corner of New and Middle Streets. An Open Rehearsal will be held at 3:00 p.m. and a performance at 7:30 p.m.
Rehearsals for Messiah will begin on Monday Oct. 17 at 7 p.m in the Sanctuary of Centenary United Methodist Church, and continue each Monday except October 31, and on the weekend of the performance. There are no auditions for singers, but they will need a G. Schirmer score, available at Fuller Music, 2310 Trent Road, New Bern. It is recommended but not required that singers be vaccinated for COVID 19, and efforts will be made to distance singers during rehearsals.
Begun in 1981, the performances feature a 90-member chorus from the surrounding area, including Beaufort, Craven, Carteret, Jones, New Hanover, Pamlico and Wayne counties. Accompanying the singers will be an orchestra composed of members of the North Carolina Symphony, many of whom have returned to New Bern each year for this occasion.
The production is sponsored by the Craven Messiah Chorus, an organization originally founded by Centenary United Methodist Church, Christ Episcopal Church, First Baptist Church, and First Presbyterian Church. Co-directors of the Craven Messiah Chorus are B.J. Oglesby and Pat K. Rowlett. For information, phone Pat Rowlett at 252-637-3270.
By Pat K. Rowlett