Messiah Celebrates 91 Years of Tradition

RiverChor and Gateway Area Singers presents Clinton’s annual performance of “Messiah” on Sunday, December 18 at 2:00pm at Zion Lutheran Church, 439 3rd Ave S in Clinton.  The group celebrates 91 years of performing Handel’s work with all of the Christmas portion, followed by several more selections concluding in a resounding “Hallelujah”!

The tradition was begun in 1931 by Rev. Frederick Schoenbohn with a group of singers called the Apollo Choral Society. Over the years, community singers have been directed by Jim Winn, John DeHaan, Dorothy Rathje, Mark Kapusinski, and Rob Engelson. This year, the baton passes to Karl Wolf, recently retired choral director of Clinton High School.  The pianist is Christine Holmer, organist at Zion Lutheran and former director of music at Immanuel Lutheran Church.

“We are excited to present “Messiah” in concert again. While we have maintained the annual tradition with Sing-Alongs, this will be the first formal “Messiah” concert presented in Clinton since 2018,” said Brooke Logan, RiverChor manager and organizer of the event.  “We have singers who are marking 50 years of participation, and some who are looking at this work for the very first time.  We invite you to take a break from your hectic holiday schedule to enjoy their efforts and the retelling of the Christmas story through song.”

Admission is free, offerings are welcome and appreciated.

If you’d like to help us spread the word, here is a link to the Facebook Event for you to share and invite others: https://fb.me/e/3IOUQtmij

And we also have this printable poster….simply click the little printer icon in the top right corner of the preview box below.