Welcome to St. Matthew's Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Messiah!
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St. Matthew invites you to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas as we join to sing the Christmas portionof G.F. Handel’s classic oratorio: The Messiah Date: Saturday, December 14, 2023 Time: 3:00pm Location: St. Matthew Lutheran Church 24500 N. Old McHenry Road Hawthorn Woods, IL 60047 (see map below) This is a free event! However, all guests/participants must have a ticket. Click here to go to Tickets page. Please bring an unexpired non-perishable food item to donate to the COOL Food Pantry - a Lutheran mission for families in need. Conductor: Marissa Simmons Originally from the Chicago area, our conductor, Marissa Simmons earned a Master of Music under Catherine Cook at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She received her Bachelor of Music in both Classical Voice Performance and Music Theory and Composition from the University of Miami Frost School of Music with Dr. Esther Jane Hardenbergh and Dr. Lansing McLoskey. At the tender age of 15 she composed and conducted an original orchestral work for a performance in Vienna, Austria. She has built on that success by performing with such prestigious companies such as the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Virginia Opera, the Virginia Arts Festival, Des Moines Metro Opera, Music Academy of the West, Charlottesville Opera, Miami Lyric Opera, the Miami Music Festival, the International Vocal Arts Academy, and more. We are delighted to welcome her to our podium for this year's Do It Yourself Messiah. Soprano: Diana Monacelli Emerging opera singer Diana Monacelli is our Sprano soloist. She has been enchanting audiences with her warm, resonant voice and captivating performances. Training under Dr. Viktoria Vizin, she has made thrilling debuts as Despina in Cosi fan tutte in Salzburg Austria and Zerlina in Don Giovanni with Windy City Opera Fest. Recently, this November 2024 she performed the role of Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel, with Sinfonietta Bel Canto. Alongside her performance career, Diana teaches at various institutions sharing her knowledge and passion for music. Alto: Emma Ware Emma Ware, our Alto soloist, is the Choir Director at the First Presbyterian Church in Glen Ellyn , Illinois. A graduate of the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music with a Bachelors of Music in Music Composition and Theater, she has extensive experience in choral and solo performances with the Wheaton College Women’s Chorale, the Con Vivium Vocal Ensemble and as an alto soloist with the WCCC Messiah Project. We look forward to her fresh approach to this year’s DIY Messiah performance. Tenor: Cameo Humes A full-time member of the Lyric Opera, Cameo Humes is our tenor soloist. He is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after tenors in operatic and concert repertoire. He has performed with Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Richmond Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, SANAA Opera Project, and the Orchestra Sinfonica dell’International Chamber Ensemble in Italy. His engagements included a debut with Lyric Opera of Chicago in the role of Mano Alfaro in Terrence Blanchard’s Champion as well as debuts with Lucerne Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival,and Teatro alla Scala in the roles of Peter, Crab man, Mingo and Robbins in Porgy and Bess. A warm welcome to Cameo! Baritone: Parker Ohman Parker Ohman is returning as our baritone soloist for this year’s DIY Messiah. A graduate of the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Music in Voice, his recent artistic endeavors include playing Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls with Arena Theater, serving as the staging director for The Messiah Project (a semi-staged, touring production of Handel's Messiah with the Wheaton College Concert Choir), touring with the a cappella vocal sextet Convivium (weareconvivum.com), and serving as the music director for a devised theater piece entitled The Ruth Project. Welcome back, Parker! Organist: Michael Edwards Our organ accompanist, Michael Gagne holds a B.A. Degree in Music from North Park University in Chicago and joined the St. Matthew Lutheran Church music ministry in 2014. In July, 2024 he became the Director of Classic Music at St. Matthew. His keyboard playing enhances the churches classic worship services. He also performs concerts and leads master classes in some of the most famous churches and cathedrals in the U.S., most notably, the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago - the largest pipe organ in the Midwest. He is a member of the American Organist Guild. Pianist: Mark Edwards Mark Edwards, our piano accompanist, is an organist of Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Charles. He is a graduate of Eastman School of Music and Indiana University, and has served on the piano faculties of Augustana College (SD), Carthage College, and Milwaukee Area Technical College. He maintains a studio as an independent teacher of piano, organ, and harpsichord and has served as a pianist and vocalist with the U.S. Air Force Band. Mark and his wife, Karen, perform as a piano duo and have released two CDs. This is Mark’s second year of accompanying our DIY Messiah. Welcome back, Mark! And YOU, the audience, will sing the choruses under Mr. Jamison’s direction. There will be fellowship, cookies, and refreshments available after the performance. The annual St. Matthew Women's Guild Annual Christmas Cookie Bake Sale will also be open after the performance! |
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