What a delight and blessing it was to conduct Messiah with my friends in Michigan City. The performance was beyond words! The soloists, Sarah Gartshore, Kristin Gornstein, Matthew Daniel and Peter van de Graaff provided eloquent and graceful voices to the arias and superb finesse to the ornamentation where required. The orchestra, led by Nic Orbovich, Artistic Director of the Michigan City Chamber Music Festival, played with inspired agility and insightfulness to the music, textures and fluidity of vocalists.
The chorus – what can I say about the chorus!! Can I have an AMEN!
Wait, I did have an Amen…for several minutes in fact at the very end. How inspiring and invigorating they were. WIlling, able and desiring to bring out all the hidden (and not so hidden) treasures of the music. They were engaged and superb from the first note to the last.
The performances have to rank up there as some of the most meaningful and spiritual I’ve experienced as a conductor. And the great thing is we get to do it all again next year! I can’t wait. The Michigan City Messiah is a community jewel that shines bright during the Christmas season. I am proud to be associated with such a rich a storied tradition. Thank you Dan McNabb for inviting me to the table. It was a feast!