Walden Forum: Join Us for a Messiah Sing-Along on Dec. 12 at WHS

Join the Walden Forum along with professional and audience choruses for a holiday community sing-along. The renowned Sharon Brown of the Berklee College of Music will direct the choruses while Susan Memoli will direct the accompanying WHS Sinfonia Orchestra. This Walden Forum Messiah will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 12 at the Wayland High School Auditorium, 264 Old Connecticut Path, Wayland, MA.

Our sing-along has been developed on a principle of openness. Everyone is welcome in the choir, and everyone is welcome in the performance. As an audience member you are not required to sing, but you are certainly invited to do so. If you have ever wanted to sing Messiah with a full orchestra accompaniment – free! – this is your chance! No prior rehearsal is scheduled.

There are a lot of Messiah sings, but this one is tremendously friendly and accessible, where everybody can have fun. We hope to have 600 revelers singing Hal-le-lu-jah and to set a record for the area!

The concert includes selections from Handel’s choral masterpiece that he composed over the span of 24 days in August 1741. The first performance was given in Dublin, Ireland. It is a piece from Handel’s standard repertoire revered and performed by musicians and music lovers the world over.

The following singing groups, choruses and choirs from throughout our area are participating: The WHS Chorus, Good Shepherd Choir, Peace Lutheran Church, The Golden Tones, Sanctuary Choir of Trinitarian Congregational Church in Wayland and the Burlington High Choir. The list is continuing to grow. 

Singers of all skills are invited to sing through Part I of George Friedrich Handel’s choral masterpiece and most famous oratorio and, of course, the Hallelujah Chorus.

After the performance everyone is invited to come join us for coffee, tea, hot chocolate and sweet treats, compliments of Whole Foods - Wayland, Framingham and Wellesley.

The performance is a community sing-along, with professional soloists, a full orchestra, and with semi-professional and amateur choruses to provide the core support for the singing. (Audience members may bring their own score.)

Featured conductors: Susan Memoli, Music Director of Fine Arts for the Wayland Public Schools, will direct the orchestra. Sharon Brown from Berklee College of Music will direct and lead the chorus.

Featured Musicians: WHS Honors Sinfonia Orchestra with keyboardist Jody Pongratz

Featured soloists: Maddie Sifantus, founder of the Golden Tones and one of our area ministers, is the featured soprano. Holly Zagaria, an educator and performer who just completed her Carnegie Hall debut, is the featured alto. John Middleton-Cox, an educator and performer who has been a leading man in operas and musical theatre, is the featured tenor. Stephen Murray, Middle School Chorus Director, General Music Teacher and Curriculum Leader, is the featured bass.

About the Walden Forum – The Walden Forum is a free public series that brings people together to talk, listen and learn from one another in a civil environment. It fosters discussion about important ethical, religious, political, scientific, social and other topics in a live-forum setting. Dynamic speakers challenge and expand our views about the world around us and offer the opportunity for an open discussion of these issues in a convenient, local setting. Featuring world-class speakers on great topics throughout the year, the Walden Forum is a non-religious community program supported by Wayland Business Association, Staples, UPS and others. For more information go to www.waldenforum.org or write to info@waldenforum.org.