‘Messiah’ performed in Christ Chapel for first time

Home Culture ‘Messiah’ performed in Christ Chapel for first time
‘Messiah’ performed in Christ Chapel for first time
Student perform Handel’s Messiah in Christ Chapel.
Andrew Dixon | Collegian

The Hillsdale College orchestra, choir, and chamber choir joined together the weekend of April 9 to perform Handel’s “Messiah” in Christ Chapel for the first time. 

James Holleman, a professor and chairman of the music department and the director of choirs and orchestras at Hillsdale College, described how he helped to design Christ Chapel as a space to hold musical performances, especially sacred performances like “Messiah.”

“We previously performed in College Baptist Church,” Holleman said. “So think about that many performers on that small of a stage. We had to move pews around, set up risers, and put the orchestra on the floor of the church to make it all fit.”

Assistant concertmaster junior Peter Kalthoff said he went to see “Messiah” every four years at College Baptist when he was growing up. 

“I remember going with my friend Will Smith, who sang this weekend, to College Baptist, and we would listen to the performers and compare them to the years before and the recordings of ‘Messiah’ that my dad always played on the stereo,” Kalthoff said. 

Handel’s “Messiah” was originally performed around Easter, but it became an American tradition to perform it at Christmas time. Holleman followed this precedent when instituting Hillsdale’s tradition of playing this oratorio before fall semester finals. However due to Michigan’s everchanging COVID regulations, the music department decided to postpone this year’s performance to Easter. 

“Too much was up in the air about whether we would be allowed to have a live audience and if we would all have to wear masks, so we made the decision to postpone it before we had to go online in late November,” Holleman said. “We realized there were a few disadvantages and a lot of advantages to this decision, and I believe it worked out for the best.”

Postponing the concert gave soloists, particularly freshman soloists, time to mature and benefit from private lessons before their performances, which Holleman said contributed to the high quality of their performances this last weekend. 

Waiting until Easter also gave transfer student Marie-Therese Romanos the opportunity to contribute and experience performing this music in Christ Chapel. 

“If we had done it last semester, I wouldn’t have been able to partake in it, so I was really joyful about the Lord’s timeline,” Romanos said. 

After transferring  from University of Illinois, Romanos described how blessed she felt to even be able to have choir practice, let alone perform such an impactful piece of music in front of a live audience. 

“At University of Illinois, we had choir practice, but it had to be outside, could only be 30 minutes long, and we had to wear masks and sit far away from one another,” Romanos said. “We are so privileged to be able to perform.”

Senior Jonathan Meckel echoed how grateful he was for the opportunity to perform despite the COVID-19 restrictions. 

“We exist in a different world where we get to do all of these special things,” Meckel said. “Music is one of the top three things that have brought me community during my time at Hillsdale, and I can’t imagine what it would’ve been like without that this year.”

Meckel said that these performances reminded people about the importance of community, especially in the midst of this pandemic. 

“I understand what people are concerned about, but you can’t deny how important it is for human beings to have a community, and music is one of the biggest things that brings communities together,” Meckel said. “I don’t think there’s a better way of displaying the importance of that than having our 170 performers on stage doing this for an audience. Those two performances were the peak of my college career.”

Associate professor of music and harpsichord player Daniel Tacke emphasized the importance of putting on a performance of this magnitude in the midst of regulations and shutdowns. 

“I do think it likely that this was the first opportunity in a long time for many in the audience to hear a live musical performance, which is a real tragedy, and all the more reason to put on these performances despite any obstacles,” Tacke said. 

Throughout every rehearsal this year, the choir sang with masks on, but they were allowed to remove them at the Messiah performances for the first time. 

“It was exciting for me to see the singers’ faces Friday night. It was the first time I actually got to see what our freshmen looked like, it was really bizarre,” Holleman said. “It was so uplifting for everyone, and the faces I saw were not only excited to sing, but showed the faith conviction of our students.”

“After one of Handel’s ‘Messiah’ performances, someone thanked him for the great entertainment, and Handel said, ‘I’m sorry if I’ve only entertained you, I wished to make you better,’” Kalthoff said. “I think that story really captures its purpose. This music is reverent and spiritual and it gives people the opportunity to be touched by the Word of God.”

Kalthoff described how fitting it was that the first concert people attended after the pandemic constantly reminded them of the peace that can be found in God. 

“These songs focus on the comfort that God offers, and I think that’s something everyone is thirsty for: a message of higher, enduring things,” Kalthoff said. 

As a complete work, “Messiah” outlines the life, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Performing such material allowed students, like freshman Janae Israel, to participate in the good news of the Gospels. 

“Trumpets are very significant to ‘Messiah’ because they are used to announce Christ in the Bible,” Israel said. “When I performed my solo on ‘The Trumpet Shall Sound,’ I envisioned myself announcing Christ’s resurrection, which had even more significance since we performed the weekend after Easter.”

Holleman said that the talent of the orchestra and choir coupled with the performances happening the weekend after Easter made these concerts even more impactful. 

“I’ve been doing this for a long time and I’ve worked with a lot of orchestras and soloists,” Holleman said. “The confidence and the level of preparation the students had just made the skill of these performances at an all time high.”