BRATTLEBORO — Friends of Music at Guilford will host the 45th annual Community Messiah Sing to benefit the homeless at 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 5.
Centre Congregational Church, at 193 Main Street, has been home for the event since 1982 and for a few prior seasons as well.
Terry Larsen, a resident of Southampton, Mass., returns for a ninth season to lead the singing. He brings more than 25 years of experience as a music teacher, choral singer, soloist, and conductor to his role at the helm.
William McKim, who has played the organ at this event for 27 past seasons, and officially “retired” twice from doing so, agreed to step in on short notice when the University of Vermont's David Neiweem, who played for the event in 2014, broke a collarbone in late October.
Vocal soloists this year are all veterans of past events.
Soprano Margery McCrum first sang at this event in 1992, then in three other seasons through 2004, and has been featured in several other Friends of Music programs; she performs as singer and soloist for regional choral groups and teaches voice in Brattleboro.
Alto Justina Golden was also featured in four prior community sings, most recently last season. She teaches at her Florence, Mass., studio and is a frequent soloist in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts, as well as across the U.S. and abroad.
This year's tenor is James Anderson, who performed for the sing in 2005 and 2006, shortly after arriving in Vermont. He had enjoyed a long career in Europe as an operatic leading man and now teaches voice, performs in a variety of concert settings, and directs musical productions for New England Youth Theatre.
Returning to perform the bass solos is Cailin Marcel Manson, who serves as music director at The Putney School. He is also an operatic soloist, choral and orchestral conductor, master teacher, and festival artistic director regionally and around the world.
As many as 250 or more singers from the Tri-State region bring their copy of a Messiah vocal score, or borrow or buy one at the door. Copies are available in advance online or at regional music shops. A number of other folks just come for the beautiful music and to enjoy the rich sound of such an enormous choir.
Water is the only beverage allowed in the sanctuary; a supply of bottled water is available for purchase at the door.
All door donations at the sing since 2007, a total of nearly $13,500, have been divided between the Brattleboro Area Drop In Center and Morningside Shelter (now renamed Groundworks Drop In Center and Groundworks Shelter) to support their work with the homeless at holiday time. In September, the two formerly separate organizations were merged into the Groundworks Collaborative, whose programs will be the beneficiaries of this year's collection at the Messiah Sing door.
Groundworks volunteers will be outside the church from about noon to 3 p.m. for accepting monetary donations from passersby, as well as bags of nonperishable food, winter clothing, outerwear, and blankets; and new, unwrapped toys from downtown shoppers and sing attendees.
The Friends of Music Holiday Boutique will be stocked with several series of art cards by local artists whose images have appeared on concert posters and season programs, a selection of CDs, and a variety of tote bags.
Sales of these items support Friends of Music concert programs, many of which are offered on a donation basis to make them accessible to music lovers of modest means.