Sunday, December 17, 2023, 4 PM

Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre

THIS PERFORMANCE HAS ALREADY OCCURRED.

PROGRAM NOTEs

View the program for this event here.

Dwight Bigler, conductor
Alison Wahl, soprano
Kayla Brotherton, mezzo-soprano
Benjamin Bunsold, tenor
Markel Williams, bass-baritone

The New River Valley’s own Blacksburg Master Chorale (BMC) is joined by a professional orchestra and soloists to present one of the most iconic works of the holiday season, Handel’s Messiah. You won’t want to miss the voices of more than 80 singers filling the Fife Theatre for the glorious and resounding Hallelujah Chorus.

A German Baroque composer, George Frideric Handel began writing oratorios — operas about sacred subjects that are presented in concert instead of acted on the stage — after his opera season was cancelled because of a lack of subscribers. He wrote 22 oratorios in all, composing Messiah in 24 days in 1741. The work gained popularity throughout the 1750s and, after Handel’s death, was performed all over the world with increasing adaptations and re-orchestrations based on the musical taste of the time.

The Blacksburg Master Chorale is a diverse community organization based in Blacksburg that welcomes singers 18 and over to perform contemporary and classical pieces (and the occasional commissioned piece or local composition) and participate in the local arts community. The ensemble was established in 1987 and consistently has 80-100 active singer members. Under the baton of Music Director Dwight Bigler, the ensemble performs three to four major concerts per year in venues across the New River Valley.

A headshot of Dwight Bigler, the conductor of the Blacksburg Master Chorale. Bigler is a middle aged white man with a bald head and closely trimmed greying blonde beard. He wears a tuxedo.
Soprano Alison Wahl, a white woman with icy blue eyes and blonde hair swept back into a bun. She wears a navy blue shirt and looks towards the camera in front of a beige background.
Mezzo-soprano Kayla Brotherton, a white woman with dark, long, wavy brown hair and brown eyes wearing red lipstick and a blue and pink floral shirt. She stands in front of greenery and looks towards the camera.
Tenor Benjamin Bunsold, a white man with dark brown hair and eyes, wears a black shirt and smiles towards the camera in front of a grey background.
Bass-baritone Markel Williams, a Black man with a dark brown goatee and wearing a dark blazer over a light blue button down shirt, smiles towards the camera in front of a dark background.
Blacksburg Master Chorale performs in a church, sweeping wooden arches trailing up the walls to the ceiling.
Blacksburg Master Chorale performs in a church, the photo taken from the back between the pews as people watch.
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Blacksburg Master Chorale previously performed at the Moss Arts Center in 2015 and 2019, as well as with Opera Roanoke in 2023.