November 16, 2021 Submitted by Paul Cappers
Why go to Boston for great music when you can enjoy it right here on the South Shore in Hingham? The Hingham Singers, in partnership with the Wompatuck Senior Orchestra, will present 34 movements of Handel's beloved oratorio, Messiah, at Hingham Town Hall on Friday, December 17, 7:30 PM, and Sunday, December 19, 3:00 PM. Come listen to all your favorite choruses, such as "For Unto Us a Child Is Born," "Glory to God," "His Yoke is Easy," "And the Glory of the Lord," and many others, including, of course, the "Hallelujah" and the grand "Amen." The orchestra and chorus are both under the baton of Dr. Paul Kenwood Cappers, former Music Department leader for the Hingham Public Schools. Advance tickets at $20. are available online at brownpapertickets.com/event/5308605. Tickets will also be available at the door for $25.
Many of the soloists in the production are graduates of Hingham High School. These include lead soprano soloist Patricia Gilbert MacDonald, class of 1991; Todd Merritt, 1995; Julie Hunt Rohlfing, 1999; Karen Green, 1975; and the most recent HHS graduate, Cassandra Katsilieris Celluci, class of 2008. Other featured soloists include Christopher Seitter, Bruce Herzfelder, Daniel Kostreva, Douglas Anderson, and Marianne Telenko.
Dr. Cappers has conducted many major works over the course of his career, including Carmina Burana, Mozart's Requiem, Beethoven's Mass in C Major, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, among others. His high school choruses in Hingham performed concerts at Canterbury Cathedral in England, Klosterneuberg Abbey in Austria, Melk Abbey in Germany, and concert halls in Sacrafano, Trento, and Rome, Italy. Prior to coming to Hingham, Dr. Cappers served as Assistant Professor of Music Education at the University of Hartford's Hartt School of Music, where he was a member of the Faculty Senate and conducted the Greater Hartford Youth Chorale. Patricia Gilbert MacDonald has served as cantor of Resurrection Church and performed as a chorister with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in their performance of Brahms' Requiem. Dr. MacDonald received her undergraduate music degree from Notre Dame University and currently works in the field of education.
Regarding COVID precautions, all audience members are requested to be fully vaccinated or have a negative COVID test within 72 hours of the concert, and will have to wear a mask while inside Hingham Town Hall. This is consistent with current protocols in effect for attending a concert of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.