Geelong music lovers will have the chance to get into the Christmas spirit with Victoria’s premier orchestra next weekend.
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) will present Handel’s greatest oratorio Messiah at Costa Hall on Saturday, December 7, conducted by MSO artist in residence Erin Helyard.
Halyard said the iconic work, which features one of the most famous pieces of Baroque choral music in the Hallelujah Chorus, was “a wonderful evocation of Christmas”.
“When I now listen to (Messiah) any other time outside of summer, I think of the beach and my family and getting together for a barbecue and the Christmas shutdown and not answering e-mails,” he said.
“So it has this wonderful sense of rest and joy and peace, which is not uncoincidentally at the very heart of the work.
“Added to that, you’ve got all the wonderful, well-known tunes that people will know and love. It’s a masterpiece.”
The MSO’s Geelong performance of Messiah is one of four, with the orchestra also visiting Warragul and Bendigo before returning home for a final show at Hamer Hall.
Halyard, who has conducted the MSO twice earlier this year, said there was something special about taking the orchestra out of Melbourne and into regional Victoria.
“I grew up in regional New South Wales… and it was experiencing touring orchestras when I was a kid that led me to follow my career as a musician,” he said.
“So I’m really passionate about when orchestras based in urban centres go out to areas that don’t necessarily see them all the time. There could be a young person in the audience, like me when I was a kid, who is mesmerised and fascinated by the beauty of the performance.
“And people truly appreciate it when groups like the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra make the significant logistical exercise to get out there. So I prefer these regional run-outs because they just make it all worthwhile.”
