Hallelujah! Handel’s ‘Messiah’ a hit in the Valley for a 27th straight year

PALMER — A big and powerful sound came from Glenn Massay Theater at Mat-Su College on Sunday. It wasn’t a boom, thunder or fireworks. It was an amazing community Messiah production with rich, bold sound and resonant strength.

It was the swelling choir of 87 voices and the accompaniment of a 33-piece orchestra. Collectively there was glorious exponential power, which far exceeded the sum of individual parts.

Handel’s Messiah has been produced locally for nearly 27 years straight. What started as a Community Messiah Movement is now a grand and beloved Valley tradition; it continues to improve at a higher and higher level, each year. This is the first year it was produced at the Massay Theater. Already known for the superb acoustics, this venue felt like it was made for this stunning, celebratory production.

Giving one an idea of how many people attended is easy. There was not one parking space left in any of the college parking lots. The overfill lots were also being used. Every seat in the theater was filled, for both productions. Some watched it from the lobby’s video system. A conservative guess would put the community involvement at near 1,500, considering all the orchestra and choir, family, visitors, workers and two separate performances.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sponsored this community classic performance. They have done this for years and it is always popular. They do all the labor, the set up, the take down, the cookies, the punch, the programs, the logistics, they organize the lengthy rehearsal schedule and practice areas, they secure the conductor, arrange for the facilities, they sponsor the musicians and chorus. All in all—they do all the work, and then they give this huge, generous gift to all the community.

Soloists are pulled in from all over. The choir is about 60 percent from the Mormon congregation, but the orchestra and many of the singers are people who simply love to play music or sing in both the Valley and Chugiak/Eagle River. Many of the musicians have participated in this annual holiday rite for many years.

Beth Wright is an active and committed violinist in the orchestra. She says that the talent of the collected musicians is amazing. But she was also quick to explain that it took huge efforts behind the scenes to produce this type of production. Wendy Bowen was this year’s event coordinator; Koreen Robinson was the rehearsal pianist; Scott Allred assembled the orchestra; Valerie Owens coordinated the choir; Matt Ketchcemethy was the event liaison and Shawn Mertin handled the equipment.

The Guest Conductor was Terri Pontius. She and her husband, were a musical team and have been a big part of the Messiah movement for many years. Pontius moved away from Alaska several years ago but came back home to do this wonderful production. She says “This performance is all about stories.” Pontius goes on to explain that the story revolves around Jesus, life, death, salvation and resurrection. It is also about personal stories of hope, faith and “above all love.” Conductor Pontius stood tall and poised and conducted with great grace and passion.

The full production lasted 1 hour and 50 minutes. This seems like a long time for an audience to sit still, but with the underlying power of the production, time passed quickly.

Waves of chorus propelled the story forward. Remarkable solo performances and an amazing Doug Sheaffer—on the trumpet—offered the mesmerized audience momentary bursts of joy, amidst the landscape of a great and epic choral story. In fact, there were times when the audience seemed in great awe of the voices and the power they carried.

The audience rose magically as one—to stand for the familiar and bold Hallelujah Chorus.