54 years of handling classic Messiah

The Saddleworth Male Voice Choir and augmented ladies chorus are currently rehearsing for their 52nd consecutive performance of Handel's Messiah..

DECADES of experience will go into producing a rousing Christmas favourite.

The Saddleworth Male Voice Choir and augmented ladies chorus are now rehearsing for their 54th consecutive performance of Handel's Messiah.

Under their musical director Dorian Kelly, the choir performs as a chorus of 32 tenor/bass voices together with an augmented ladies chorus of 48 soprano/contralto voices who are recruited from local churches, musical societies and choirs.

Some members of the men's choir have appeared in over 40 performances and a number of the ladies have sung Messiah with the choir for more than 30 years.

The choir recruits the services of Professional Soloists from the Royal Northern College of Music. The ensemble is accompanied once again by the immensely experienced Pennine Orchestra, which, under the leadership of Donald Clarke, has played with the choir since 1982.

Each year, the dedication of all concerned adds a refreshing brightness to the performance of this wonderful Oratorio.

The people of Saddleworth and the choir's widespread supporters eagerly await the annual performance of Messiah, and to many of them it reinforces the true meaning of Christmas and heralds the beginning of the Christmas festivities.

The Messiah performance will take place on Saturday at 7pm in the Uppermill Civic Hall. Tickets priced at £15, £13 and £10 can be obtained from the Saddleworth Museum, Uppermill Post Office or David Davies, tel. 01457 873182.