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The first time Stephen Williams was invited to attend the Utah Symphony's annual "Messiah" Sing-In, he was skeptical. Williams, a Salt Lake City filmmaker and stage performer, is a trained singer. He wasn't sure sloshing along through the "Hallelujah" chorus with a crowd of amateurs would be his idea of a good time.
His first Sing-In was a revelatory experience, and now Williams is a 12-year veteran and ardent supporter.
He attends with an ever-expanding group of friends who join for a party before the concert, then sit in a block at Abravanel Hall. The jubilant communal experience the Sing-In provides makes the evening a holiday highlight for the whole group. "There is really a spirit about it," Williams said. "The happiness level is just off the chart."
For Williams, the thrill of the Sing-In comes from sharing the experience with singers of all ability levels, all singing their hearts out in joyful anonymity.
"At the end, they just cheer — it's like you're at a football game," Williams said. "The cheering and applause and foot-stomping is for the orchestra and soloists, but partly, they're just cheering themselves. People just go crazy, and I think it's because they participated."
Like Williams, many who attend the Sing-In come to rekindle warm memories of a past connection with "Messiah," whether as a listener or as a performer in one of the state's many annual community productions of the work.
Many Utah Symphony players have fond recollections of first "Messiah" experiences, too. Timpanist Craig Fineshriber remembers the orchestra's inaugural "Messiah" Sing-In, 32 years ago. He was caught by surprise by the mighty noise that arose from a crowd of unauditioned, unrehearsed singers on that long-ago night.
"I still remember the thrill of hearing all those voices and the energy that was generated by just regular people getting together to sing these choruses they've heard all their lives," Fineshriber said.
For those who attend the Sing-In, seeing and hearing Fineshriber perform "Messiah's" flamboyant timpani part is always memorable. Though dramatic and highly exposed, he said it isn't technically difficult.
"Because of Handel's writing, and the Baroque style where harmonies are so clear, every time you play it, you know you are just playing something that fits perfectly, and it's fun — really fun," he said. "A lot of that has to do with Handel himself, who so brilliantly wrote it."
Fineshriber said many people — perhaps including Handel himself — consider the 1742 oratorio on the life of Jesus Christ divinely inspired. "I'm not one who goes in for all that," he said, "but this clearly was an act of absolute genius, and the timpani part fits it beautifully."
Principal oboist Robert Stephenson's first "Messiah" performance was a formative event in his life and remains a special memory.
Stephenson recalled via e-mail: "My experience with 'Messiah' goes back about 40 years. As a teenager going to school at the Interlochen Arts Academy in northern Michigan, the school orchestra got to go to the big city of Ann Arbor during the month of December for participation in multiple performances of 'Messiah.'
"Hill Auditorium, where we performed, is a huge building that held thousands of people (or so it seemed to a young musician's eyes). It was an opportunity to buy classical records and eat deep dish pizza, but [seeing] the vast number of people that came and sang at those concerts left me with the feeling that music could move the masses.
"That shared experience is still felt when I perform 'Messiah.' It probably doesn't hurt knowing that Handel wrote several sonatas and concerti for the oboe and even played the instrument himself. Having been to London several times, I stood by his gravesite and gave thanks for the many musical benefits that still resound today."
For unto us a child is born!
P You can be part of the act when the Utah Symphony presents Handel's "Messiah" this weekend. Susanne Sheston conducts the audience and the Utah Symphony Chorus. Soloists are soprano Angela Theis, mezzo-soprano Stina Eberhardt, tenor A.J. Glueckert and baritone Michael Chipman. Bring your family (and your score) and sing along.
When • Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 27 and 28, at 7 p.m.
Where • Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City.
Tickets • $8 to $21. Call 801-355-ARTS or visit http://www.usuo.org. Subscribers and those desiring group or student discounts should call 801-533-NOTE.