After the Unitarian Church burned down in 1964, Anne-Marie Arnold sought to create an uplifting tradition. (Courtesy photo)
A long-running musical tradition in Harvard is returning for its 47th year next week, bringing talented amateur and professional singers together for a rousing sing-along performance of George Frideric Handel’s well-known oratorio “Messiah.”
This year’s Messiah Sing will take place on Sunday, Dec. 16, in the sanctuary of the Harvard Unitarian Universalist Church at 5 p.m.
The Messiah Sing began 47 years ago when Anne-Marie Arnold, then choir director of the Unitarian Church, was looking for a way to lift the spirits of the congregation after their church burnt down the year before. The first sing was in the old elementary school gym, where the congregation was then worshipping.
The Harvard tradition has stayed remarkably unchanged since the original 1965 celebration, and it has inspired a great deal of loyalty. After Arnold persuaded Bromfield music teacher Ray Ackerman to direct the first orchestra of volunteers, he remained in the post for 19 years; his successor, Ray Bauwens, also directed the orchestra for many years before passing the baton to Ted Johnson, the current music director of the Unitarian Universalist Church, who has led the orchestra for the past decade.
The professional alto and tenor who sing at the event, Susan Rogers and Richard Monroe, have participated for over 10 years. To take part for the third time, the professional bass singer, Leon Burke, is using his own frequent-flyer miles to fly in from Missouri.
The Messiah Sing is also an intergenerational tradition in Harvard. Arnold organized the first Messiah Sing after giving birth to her fourth child. That child, Tim Arnold of Old Mill Road, attended the first performance as a six-month-old and continues to participate, playing the violin in the orchestra. His three older siblings have also joined in as instrumentalists at various times throughout the years. Another violinist and longtime Harvard resident, Charles Kronauer of Old Littleton Road, has performed in the event since he was in high school, about 35 years ago.
Singers warm up at last year’s Messiah Sing. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
“I remember one year when I came home from the navy and played in my dress blues,” he said.
For the past three years, Kronauer has performed with his viola-playing daughter Kristina Kronauer, currently a senior at Bryn Mawr College.
Another Harvard resident came to the event more recently. Andra Evans grew up in Harvard, moved away, and then came back.
“In all that time I never went to the Sing In,” she said. “I finally went the year before last and I was blown away.”
Evans said the Messiah Sing is a special experience because everyone, whether amateur or professional, feels like part of the event.
“Last year the sing in sounded like a professional choir,” said Eleanor Toth, chair of the church’s music committee.
The Messiah Sing appeals to talented amateur singers throughout the region as it has from the beginning. Arline Marteney of Tahanto Trail, who sang in 1965, said that performance attracted singers from Fitchburg, Bolton, Stow, and other communities in the area. These days members of Harvard’s Pro Musica and Sounds of Stow regularly attend to lend their voices.
According to Martha Pfeiffer of Sounds of Stow, about 20 of their choir members independently showed up for last year’s concert.
“This is the thing that puts me the most in the holiday spirit,” Pfeiffer said. “It’s a really important event.”
As in past years, next week’s performance will feature a children’s chorus of local students singing “He Shall Feed His Flock.”
While most of the participants in the Messiah Sing are volunteers, since Bauwens’s tenure, the event has featured some professional musicians who are paid modest fees. While the Unitarian Universalist Church contributes $400, the total cost of the event comes to between $1,500 and $2,000, a sum that hasn’t been successfully covered by donations in recent years, according to organizers. Donations may be made at the performance.
