St Saviour’s Cathedral Choir and Hume Conservatorium’s Voiceworks perform Handel’s Messiah
April 13 @ 4:00 pm - 6:30 pm
$25
Handel’s Messiah
On the 283rd anniversary its Dublin Premiere
Sunday April 13, 2025 at 4pm
Come and join us for one of the most acclaimed choral masterpieces in the repertoire. Composed in 1741 and performed ever since around the world, Messiah has some of the most well known and moving music – justifying its almost universal appeal. The Hallelujah Chorus has even been used in advertisements for everything from hot dogs to cars.
For this performance Hume Conservatorium Voiceworks have joined forces with St. Saviour’s Cathedral Choir and members of the community to create the Messiah Choir. Joining the choir are soloists: Soprano- Rachel Mink, Counter Tenor – Tobias Cole, Tenor – George Brenan and Bass – Richard Orchard. Well known organist – Dr. Brett McKern will be accompanying using his new arrangement of the orchestral score. A small ensemble of wind and brass rounds out the instrumentalists for our performance.
About Messiah…
The text for Messiah was compiled by Charles Jennens. Jennens’s intention was to acclaim the “Mystery of Godliness”, using a compilation of extracts from the Authorized (King James) Version of the Bible, and Psalms from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. Handel sets this text in a classic three Act structure, bring all his skills from a career in composing Italian operas, to produce a powerful and exhilarating musical journey.
Unlike many compositions- Messiah was composed quickly – taking a mere 24 days. And for the rest of his life, Handel was adapting and modifying it as needed for different performances and musical forces. After his death, others continued to adapt it, and by the end of the 19th Century grand symphonic forces and massed choirs were almost the norm.
In this performance we are using the Watkins Shaw edition from 1965, which removed over 2 centuries of adaptions, returning to a version which Handel would have recognised. It is since become the standard for most performances.
ProgramÂ
Overture
Comfort Ye
Ev’ry Valley
And the Glory of the Lord
Thus saith the Lord
But who May abide/for he is like a refiner
Behold a virgin shall conceive
O thou tallest good tidings to Zion
For unto us a child is born
Rejoice Greatly
Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened
He shall feed his flock (V2)
Come unto him all ye who labour (V2)
Interval
Pastoral
Behold the lamb of God
He was despised
Surely he hath borne our griefs
And with his stripes
All we like sheep
All they that see him laugh have gone astray
He trusted in God
Thy rebuke hath broken his heart
Behold and see if there by any sorrow
Lift up your heads
Hallelujah
I know that my redeemer liveth
Since by man came death
Behold I tell you a mystery
And the trumpet shall sound
But thanks be to God
ABOUT OUR SOLOISTS…
George Brenan has been immersed in the choral music tradition since the age of 8, and spent many years in church and cathedral choirs in both Queensland and New South Wales.
For most of his adult life he has been performing in specialist chamber choirs, blending a busy professional life with musical interests. While maintaining some involvement with the cathedral choir tradition, he has mostly performed in chamber choirs including specialist baroque ensembles (Cantilena [Brisbane] and the Canberra Bach Ensemble), early music ensembles (Genuine Renaissance Rubber Band [Brisbane], Pocket Score [Canberra] and generalist ensembles (Canticum, Quodlibet Singers [Brisbane], Coro [Canberra]). Â His musical interests are focussed on early and baroque music, and chamber music extending through to the current day. Â He is also a very average pianist and player of renaissance wind and string instruments.
He moved from Brisbane to the Capital region in 2002, and moved to Goulburn from Murrumbateman in 2021. After a brief period on the Hume Conservatorium Board he was appointed CEO in September 2022.
Tobias Cole uses his unique understanding of music and its resonant powers to create joyful, exhilarating and ultimately transcendental experiences with groups of people of all ages. He sees every rehearsal and every performance, whether as a conductor, singer, actor or MC, as an opportunity to remind people of their humanity and inspire them to tap their enormous potential.Â
Tobias is a Green Room Award winning singer (Xerxes, Victorian Opera) and highly sought-after choral director based in Canberra. From Julius Caesar to Akhnaten, Tobias has performed most of the principal countertenor roles with major companies in Australia and overseas. In 2019 to 2021 he performed the role of Captain Corcoran in Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore in Sydney and regional NSW.
Tobias is dedicated to youth music development, directing many choirs and vocal ensembles including Canberra Children’s Choir (Music for Canberra), Vocal Fry and Sing with Toby (ANU Community Music Centre), ANU Chamber Choir (Sublime Voices) and ANU Chamber Singers. As an ensemble singer himself he was a guest artist with The Song Company for twenty years and in 2014 established his own professional vocal quartet Clarion which has given over one hundred performances of Evensong in the National Portrait Gallery. His opera company Handel in the Theatre was launched in 2016 and has since staged three highly acclaimed productions of Handel’s English operas in the Canberra Playhouse. He is host of Classical Capers, a classical open-mic, every month at Smiths Alternative and prepares ANU Chamber Singers annually for the Australian of the Year Awards.
Since 2022 he has been choirmaster of the CSO Chorus (Messiah, St John Passion, Beethoven 9) and has presented seven Opera Salon programs at Smiths Alternative. This year, Tobias has started another series at Smiths called Serenade where participants learn two love songs in 60 minutes then perform them from the balcony to the people on Alinga Street.
Richard Orchard has been involved in musical theatre, choral music, and the St Saviours Cathedral Choir for many years. He is a long term music and singing student and is aiming for his Licentiate exam later this year.
A trained adult teacher himself, Richard has managed his own long and rambling pathway of skill development, with a mix of self directed study, taking lessons from the late Paul Paviour OAM, and putting himself in a variety of musical activities. Finally after meeting his dear friend, coach Colin Forbes of Canberra, he is confident he can complete the exam he has been working towards.
“There have been many wonderful people along this path – teachers, conductors, and colleagues. Music builds community and friendships, and I highly recommend that everyone, especially men, get involved in a choir or with the Rocky Hill Musical Theatre Company (RHMTC), and give yourself permission to sing out!” Richard is playing Callahan in RHMTC’s “Legally Blonde” that will play at GPAC at the end of May.
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We acknowledge the traditional Custodians of this Land, where the Aboriginal People have performed age-old ceremonies of storytelling, music, dance and celebration. As a traditional meeting place, many first nations peoples came to this region. Underneath our buildings and roads this Land always will be traditional Aboriginal Land. in the same way, all music making genres and practices come from our musical elders, so we acknowledge those on whose skills and wisdom we draw.
   
  