The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Vesper Choir will present Handel’s Messiah at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2. The free, public event will take place in the J.M. Ross auditorium of the Hathaway-Howard Fine Arts Building.
The UAPB Department of Music will present the choir in the 65th annual performance of Handel’s Messiah, according to a news release.
The Vesper Choir will be assisted by members of the UAPB Concert Bands and Wind Symphony along with guest string and woodwind players from the Central Arkansas and Memphis areas.
Jerron A. Liddell, interim director of the Vesper Choir, will conduct his inaugural performance as the fourth director in the choir’s 70-year history. His appointment follows the retirement of Michael J. Bates, the director for nearly 20 years, according to the release.
An alumnus of UAPB and the Vesper Choir, Liddell has been a featured soloist, guest conductor, and music assistant with the organization.
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Director of Bands John Graham Jr. will be the assistant conductor for the performance. Liddell is also assisted by Andee Book, voice instructor and assistant Vesper Choir director, and Julia Buckingham, accompanist and adjunct instructor, according to the release.
Guest alumni soloists will include: Leon Walker, tenor, Kansas City, Mo.; Duane Jackson, bass, choral director in the Pine Bluff School District; Stephan Burse, tenor, Philadelphia, Pa.; and Robin Roberts, alto, Atlanta, Ga.
Student soloists will include: Ya’Shontae Joyner-Holt, soprano, Moscow, Tenn.; Mary Rowe, soprano, Dermott; Kennedi Brown, soprano, Monticello; Kayla Slater-Cooke, alto, Detroit, Mich.; Ricky Wade, baritone, Clarksdale, Miss.; Evan Murry, bass, Pine Bluff; and Gregory White, baritone, Kansas City.
Demarr Woods, assistant professor of high brass and music theory, will be the featured trumpet soloist. Members of the orchestra will include: Judy Warner, adjunct instructor in the UAPB Music Department; Donna Lee-Thomas, alumna and music instructor in the Pine Bluff School District; and Tim Clark, alumnus and music instructor in the St. Louis School District.
This annual event marks the beginning of the Christmas celebration at UAPB, according to the release.
Details: UAPB Department of Music, 870-575-7001.