Anyone go to a Messiah Sing?

[blooz]

My church has an annual Messiah sing-along. Been going on for 43 years, the last 7 I've been in charge. I have a great conductor, four professional soloists, and we get a pick-up orchestra, mostly friends of the conductor, and about a hundred or more people show up to sing the choruses every year.
It's one of the few things in my life that I do that brings happiness to everyone involved. It's a real treat and a blessing.
Thanks to good old George Friedrich Handel.

[swampy]

I used to sing in our Messiah Society, but it kind of fell apart then reorganized into a community chorus doing all kinds of crappy secular music. No one here holds a "sing-along" so I just fire up iTunes, and sing along. It's just not Christmas without Handel's glorious music.

[davester]

Sorry, can't help it, this just popped into my head (courtesy of Monty Python:

"He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!"

[mattkime]

What is a Messiah sing-a-long?

[beerman]

Like mattkime, I'm curious to know what a messiah sing is? Sounds interesting.

[blooz]

[quote mattkime]What is a Messiah sing-a-long?
It's when a group of people get together and sing the Christmas portion of Handel's Messiah.

We have some pros for soloists, but the chorus is all amateurs who love to sing.
The orchestra is a mix, but our conductor brings in several people who play for a living or at least to supplement their incomes.
Here's a picture of ours.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11385098@N07/?saved=1