Messiah Sings
2024 Messiah Sings
Friday, December 20, 8pm
Saturday, December 21, 3pm
Grace Chapel, Lexington
A holiday musical experience for everyone
Join Masterworks Chorale for our 62nd Messiah Sings, the longest-running annual Messiah Sings in the country! As a community, we sing selections from Handel’s choral masterpiece with young soloists and a volunteer orchestra led by Music Director Kevin Leong.
Bring your score (or borrow one of ours), your voice, and a suggested donation of $15.
Sing the Messiah like never before
This year’s Messiah Sings features 35 movements including 16 choruses. Continuing Masterwork's tradition of introducing the more seldom sung choruses, we are adding Lift Up Your Heads and Let All the Angels to this year's program.
Can’t wait to sing with us? Listen to our specially curated Spotify playlist. Better yet, download a free copy of the musical score and sing along to the Messiah!
Revel in Handel's “beautiful mess”
“It took Handel an astonishing 24 days, 260 pages of full score that looks as if he were writing as fast as his hand would allow: crammed notes, crooked bar lines, ink splotches, a tangle of scrawled hen scratches across the page —impossible to image that such a mess could translate into such sublime musical perfection.”
So says John Adams, composer and conductor, in the New York Times.
For 62 years, the Masterworks Chorale community has been reveling in Handel's beautiful mess...and perhaps making a few of our own. But what joy it is in coming together in a resounding Hallelujah Chorus!
Featured soloists
Jennifer Burks, soprano
Jennifer Burks is known for her “lovely, gleaming soprano voice” and “effortless virtuosity.” She is a versatile performer and has a passion for baroque and classical concert repertoire. Jennifer has an extensive performance history spanning opera choruses, competitions, and concert appearances. She holds a Master of Music in Vocal Pedagogy from the New England Conservatory of Music and currently has a thriving voice studio, where she helps singers of all ages find confidence and joy in their voice. Jennifer is so excited to be joining the Masterworks Chorale for another Messiah Sing!
Laura Beth Couch, mezzo-soprano
Laura Beth Couch has been lauded by the Boston Musical Intelligencer for singing with “deep pathos” and “radiant affection.” She earned her Performance Diploma from Boston University, where she performed as Julia Child in Lee Hoiby’s Bon Appétit!, Dorothée in Massenet’s Cendrillon, Alice 2 in Melissa Dunphy’s Alice Tierney, and Friedrich Bhaer in Mark Adamo’s Little Women. Laura has been a soloist for Bach’s Magnificat, Bononcini’s Stabat Mater, Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, and Marianna Martines’s Dixit Dominus. A dedicated music teacher of over ten years, she earned her Master of Music in Voice Performance from Shenandoah University and her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Rutgers University.
Tartik Ayysola, tenor
Indian-American Kartik Ayysola is a frequent performer in the Greater Boston area and throughout New England. This season, he has appeared with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra in Bellini’s Norma and with Opera Vermont as Spoletta in Puccini’s Tosca. He has also appeared with the Boston Lyric Opera in Puccini’s Madame Butterfly and Verdi’s Aida. His wide concert solo repertoire includes Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Mozart’s Requiem, and Bach’s Magnificat. A native of Dover, Pennsylvania, Kartik earned the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, studying under Dr. Joseph Baunoch, and then went on to earn the Master of Music degree, studying under Dr. Jerrold Pope. He currently studies with Bradley Williams.
Nicholas Ottersberg-Enriquez, baritone
Nicholas Ottersberg-Enriquez is a 2024 graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. Originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico, he grew up performing with local mariachi groups while also performing in several opera productions with the Santa Fe Opera. He is also an up-and-coming songwriter and is set to release his first full length album of original music. This album was funded by the Entrepreneurial Musicianship grant at NEC, which he applied to and won in the fall of 2023. When he is not on a stage singing classical music, he can be found continuing to preserve his cultural roots performing mariachi as both a singer and trumpet player.
Grace Chapel
59 Worthen Rd, Lexington, MA 02421
Grapel Chapel is located near the center of the City of Lexington. The Church has 4 campuses in the Greater Boston Area and an online ministry that reaches worldwide.
Support our Messiah Sings
We ask participants to make a suggested donation of $15.
If you want to donate before the event, you can make a secure donation online by clicking the button below.